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ECONOMY 

AND EFFICIENCY IN THE 

GOVERNMENT 

SERVICE 



MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF 
THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING 

REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION 
ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY 



* 



APRIL 4, 1912.— Referred to the Committee on Appropriations 
and ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1912 



Si 



6 \ C Se™on 9S \ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | D °° U ^ Q NT 



ECONOMY 

AND EFFICIENCY IN THE 

GOVERNMENT 

SERVICE 



MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF 
THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING 

REPORTS OF THE, COMMISSION 
ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY 



* 



APRIL 4, 1912. — Referred to the Committee on Appropriations 
and ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1912 




sr nf ft. 

1912 






<SW" 



1/ 



<»0 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Message of the President 5 

g^a Local officers should be in the classified service 5 

Post offices 5 

Pension agencies 6 

District land offices 6 

Internal-revenue and customs offices 7 

Other local offices 7 

Commission's report on local offices 7 

Legislation needed to establish the merit system 7 

Consolidation of Lighthouse and Life-Saving Services 

Revenue-Cutter Service 8 

The consolidation of auditing offices 10 

The Returns Office 10 

Government expenses for travel 11 

Handling and filing of correspondence 11 

Distribution of Government documents 13 

Outlines of organization 13 

Conclusion , 13 

Appendix No. 1. — Methods of appointment 15 

Recommendations 17 

Introduction 18 

Senate appointments 18 

The classified service 19 

Senate appointments 20 

Ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls 20 

Heads of departments 21 

Assistant secretaries 21 

Heads and assistant heads of bureaus 22 

Method of appointment 23 

Method of removal 24 

Qualifications 24 

Assistant chiefs of bureaus 25 

Heads of bureaus now political officers 25 

Qualifications required 29 

Other officers in the departments 31 

Local officers 32 

Fixed terms „ . 34 

Exhibit 1. Regulations governing appointments and promotions in the 

Consular Service 36 

Exhibit 2. Extract from regulations governing the Public Health and 

Marine-Hospital Service 38 

Appendix No. 2. — Consolidation of Bureau of Lighthouses, Department of 
Commerce and Labor, and Life-Saving Service, Department of the 

Treasury 43 

Introduction 45 

General description of the two services 46 

Life-Saving Service 46 

History 46 

Relation of service to Revenue-Cutter Service 46 

Organization 47 

General administration 47 

Construction and repair of life-saving stations 48 

1 



2 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Appendix No. 2. — Consolidation of Bureau of Lighthouses and Life-Saving 
Service — Continued. 
Life-Saving Service — Continued. 
Organization — Continued. 

Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc 48 

Superintendence of construction and maintenance of telephone 

lines 48 

Inspection and storehouse 48 

Board of life-saving appliances 49 

Districts 49 

Life-saving stations and houses of refuge 50 

Lighthouse Service 50 

History 50 

Organization 51 

General administration 52 

Engineering Construction Division 52 

Marine Engineering Division 52 

Hydrographic Division 52 

Districts 52 

Depots 53 

Light stations and other aids to navigation 54 

Administration of the two services by one bureau 54 

Similarity of the two services 54 

General administration 56 

Construction and repair work 59 

Provision of equipment 60 

Maintenance of depots 61 

Distribution of supplies 63 

Field administration and inspection 63 

Recapitulation and general conclusions . 65 

Exhibit 1A. Report of the Joint Committee on the Life-Saving Service and 

the Bureau of Lighthouses, 1911 66 

Exhibit 2A. Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to 

nearest lighthouse 78 

Exhibit 3A. History, organization, and activities of the Life-Saving Service . 84 
Exhibit 4A. History, organization, and activities of the Bureau of Light- 
houses. 137 

Communication from the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to the 

President 264 

Appendix No. 3. — Revenue-Cutter Service of the Department of the Treasury. 267 

Introduction 269 

General description of the service, its organization and duties 270 

Creation of the service 270 

Duties of the service 270 

Organization of the service 271 

Appropriation for the service 271 

Critical consideration of the service and its activities 271 

Special character of the service 271 

Military character of the service 273 

Consideration of the duties of the service in detail 275 

Duties of the service as specifically required by law , 282 

Conclusion 283 

Exhibit IB. History, organization, and activities of the Revenue-Cutter 

Service 285 

Exhibit 2B . History of efforts looking to the transfer of the service from the 

Treasury Department to the Navy Department 299 

Exhibit 3B. Compilation of the laws relating to the Revenue-Cutter 

Service 349 

Exhibit 4B. Regulations and general orders of the service (included by 

reference only, as they are readily available in printed form) 368 

Exhibit 5B . Report of the Secretary of the Treasury for the fiscal year 1910 

regarding the Revenue-Cutter Service 368 

Exhibit 6B. Letter of the Secretary of the Treasury giving a statement of 

the expenditures of the service, fiscal year 1910 371 

Exhibit 7B. Extract from the legislative, executive, and judicial appro- 
priation act for the fiscal year 1912 making appropriations for the service. 371 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 

Page. 
Appendix No. 3. — Revenue-Cutter Service — Continued. 

Exhibit 8B. Summary of expenditures of the Revenue-Cutter Service for 
the fiscal year 1911 (furnished to the Commission on Economy and Effi- 
ciency by the Secretary of the Treasury) 372 

Exhibit 9B. Bibliography of the Revenue-Cutter Service 373 

Communication from Secretary of Commerce and Labor to the President. . 378 
Communication from Secretary Meyer to the President, inclosing memo- 
randum 381 

Communication from Secretary of the Treasury to the President, inclosing 

memorandum 382 

Appendix No. 4. — Accounting offices of the Treasury, with recommendations 

for the consolidation of the six auditors' offices into one office 399 c 

Exhibit 1C. Table showing number of employees and salaries under 

appropriation for 1912, and proposed for 1913 409 

Exhibit 2C. History of the accounting system of the Government, 1789 

to 1894 410 ^ 

Comment of the Dockery Commission 412 

Law reorganizing the accounting offices of the Treasury 415 v 

Appendix No. 5. — Returns Office of the Department of the Interior 421 

Report of the commission, with recommendations 423 

Draft of a bill to provide for publicity of Government contracts 428 

Exhibit ID. Report of the special committee on the Returns Office, 

Department of the Interior 430 

Exhibit 2D. Letter of the special committee on Government contracts, 

with exhibits 437 

Letter of Secretary of War to the President, transrrr i g report of 'War 

Department Board on Business Methods 457 

Letter of Samuel Adams, Acting Secretary Department of the Interior, to 

the President 458 

Letter of Secretary of Navy to the President 459 

Appendix No. 6. — Travel expenditures 461 

Recommendations 463 

Introduction 464 

Analysis of expenditures reported 466 

Mileage allowances 468 

Actual traveling expenses 471 

Grant of authority 471 

Routes and methods of travel 472 

Mileage and scrip books 472 

Definition of travel expenses 474 

Subsistence 474 

Items included under 476 

Baths 476 

Laundry 476 

Tips 476 

Verification 478 

Exhibit IE. Compilation of acts of Congress relating to mileage allowances 

and per diem allowances in lieu of subsistence 480 

Exhibit 2E. Decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury relating to 

travel expenditures 488 

Exhibit 3E. Draft of regulations in relation to travel by Government 

employees 499 

Letter of the Secretary of the Navy on travel expenditures 504 

Letter of the Secretary of War, transmitting a report on travel expenditures. 506 
Memorandum of Paymaster General of the War Department on travel ex- 
penditures 508 

Letter of chairman of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency to War 

Department on reconsideration of Report No. 17 511 

Letter of Assistant Secretary of War, transmitting report of special com- 
mittee of War Department on travel expenditures 511 

Letter of Assistant Secretary of War, transmitting report of board on busi- 
ness methods, War Department, on travel expenditures 513 



4 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Appendix No. 7. — Memorandum of conclusions concerning the principles that 
should govern in the matter of handling and filing correspondence and 
preparing and mailing communications in connection with the work of 
the several departments of the Government, together with suggestions 
for the use of labor-saving devices in preparing and mailing letters, etc . . 515 
Letter of President to heads of departments and independent establish- 
ments of the Government 517 

Introduction — definition and scope of the subject 519 

Recommendations 519 

Plan of the inquiry 520 

Study of methods in outside concerns 521 

Study of methods in branches of the Government service 522 

Analysis of reports from executive departments 522 

Work of the special committees 527 

Considerations underlying recommendations made 527 

Vertical flat filing 528 

Briefing 528 

Subjective classification of correspondence 528 

The decimal classification 529 

Monetary saving possible 531 

Registers of correspondence 531 

The press copy versus the carbon copy 532 

The dictation machine 534 

Mailing machinery '. 538 

The window envelope 538 

Rearrangement of form blanks 395 

Elimination of salutation and complimentary close 539 

Conclusion 541 

(a) Results so far attained 542 

Exhibit IF. Report of test of dictation machine in Post Office Department. 542 

Exhibit 2F. Report of Navy Department committee 544 

Exhibit 3F. Report of Treasury Department committee 546 

Exhibit 4F. Report of Department of Agriculture committee 547 

Exhibit 5F. Report of Post Office Department committee 548 

Exhibit 6F. Report of Department of Interior committee 548 

Exhibit 7F. Report of Department of Commerce and Labor committee.. . 551 

Appendix No. 8. — Centralization of the distribution of Government publi- 
cations 555 

Appendix No. 9. — The use of the outline of organization of the Government 
prepared by the commission as a means for showing currently organization 

conditions of the Government 559 

Letter of President to heads of departments and independent establish- 
ments of the Government 561 

Use of outline of organization of the Government 563 



MESSAGE. 



To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

On the 17th of January last I sent a message to the Congress 
describing the work of the commission appointed by me under author- 
ity of the acts of June 25, 1910, and March 3, 1911, granting appro- 
priations to enable me to inquire into the methods of transacting the 
public business of the various executive departments and other 
governmental establishments, and to make report as to improved 
efficiency and greater economy to be obtained in the expenditure of 
money for the maintenance of the Government. By way of illus- 
trating the utility of the commission and the work which they were 
engaged upon, I referred to a number of reports which they had 
filed recommending changes in organization of the departments and 
bureaus of the Government, the avoidance of duplication of functions 
and services, and the installation of labor-saving devices and improved 
office methods. All of the recommendations looked to savings of 
considerable amounts. With the message of February 5, 1912, I 
transmitted to the Congress the reports on the centralization of dis- 
tribution of Government documents, on the use of window envelopes, 
and on the use of a photographic process for copying records. 

A number of the reports of the commission had not then been 
commented on by the heads of the departments that would be 
affected by the changes recommended, and therefore I did not feel 
justified at that time in recommending to the Congress the statutory 
amendments necessary to carry out the recommendations of the 
commission. Since then, however, I have received the recommenda- 
tions of the heads of departments, and I transmit this message for 
the purpose of expressing my approval of the changes recommended 
by the commission and of laying before the Congress the reports 
prepared by the commission. 

Local Officers Should be in the Classified Service. 

post OFFICES. 

I have several times called attention to the advantages to be 
derived from placing in the classified service the local officers under 
the departments of the Treasury, of the Post Office/ of Justice, 
of the Interior, and of Commerce and Labor. In my message 
submitted to the Congress on January 17 I referred to the loss occa- 
sioned to the Government because of the fact that in many cases 



6 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

two persons are paid for doing work that could easily be done by 
one. In the meantime I have caused an inquiry to be made as to 
the amount in money of this loss. The results of this inquiry are 
that the loss amounts to at least $10,000,000 annually. For example, 
it appears that a very substantial economy would result from putting 
experienced and trained officers in charge of the first and second 
class post offices instead of selecting the postmasters in accordance 
with the present practice. As the annual operating expenses of 
the first and second class offices aggregate the enormous sum of 
more than $80,000,000, undoubtedly if the postmasters of these 
offices were embraced in the classified service, and required to 
devote all their time to the public service, the annual savings would 
eventually represent many millions of dollars. The saving in sala- 
ries alone, not taking into account any saving due to increased 
efficiency of operation, would amount to about $4,500,000. At 
the present time the salaries of postmasters of the first and second 
class amount to $6,076,900, while the salaries of assistant post- 
masters of the same classes amount to $2,820,000. If the position 
of postmaster were placed in the classified service and those officers 
were given salaries equal to 20 per cent more than the salaries 
now given to the assistant postmasters, the latter position being 
no longer required, there would be a saving in salaries to the Gov- 
ernment of $4,512,900. In the case of postmasters at offices of the 
third class a large annual saving could be made. 

PENSION AGENCIES. 

An annual saving of nearly $62,000 could be made if the position 
of pension agent were placed in the classified service, since the work 
now done by a pension agent at a salary of $4,000 and a chief clerk 
at a salary ranging between $1,400 and $2,250 could easily be done 
by one person in the permanent classified service at a salary varying 
from $2,100 to $3,000. Greater economy and efficiency would result 
from the abolition of the pension agencies and from the adoption of a 
plan in accordance with which pensions would be paid by the Pension 
Office in Washington. 

DISTRICT LAND OFFICES. 

What is true in the matter of payment of pensions is also true in 
the service under the General Land Office. The field service of this 
office could be more efficiently and economically operated if it were 
provided by law that the office of receiver of district land offices be 
abolished and the duties transferred to the register, assisted by a 
bonded clerk, and the register placed in the classified service. It 
has several times been estimated that more than $200,000 would be 
saved annually and the efficiency of the service greatly increased by 
the adoption of such a plan. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 7 

INTERNAL-REVENUE AND CUSTOMS OFFICES. 

Large expenditures are made for salaries of political appointees in 
the internal-revenue and customs services. In both services a direct 
saving in salaries, and an indirect economy through increased effi- 
ciency, would follow a transfer of such offices to the classified service. 

OTHER LOCAL OFFICES. 

In the other field services the saving which would result from the 
classification of the local officers under the departments is not as 
marked or probably capable of as exact estimation as in those men- 
tioned, but there is no doubt that substantial savings would follow. 
It is not to be doubted that where no saving would result the classifi- 
cation of the local officers would increase the efficiency of the service. 
It would be desirable also to place all marshals, deputy marshals, and 
assistant attorneys in the classified service, although but little direct 
economy would result. Supervising inspectors in the Steamboat- 
Inspection Service and the members of the field service in the Bureau 
of Fisheries should be placed in the classified service. 

COMMISSION'S REPORT ON LOCAL OFFICES. 

The report on methods of appointment submitted to me by the 
commission, which covers fully the subject of appointments by the 
President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and 
recommends that various local officers, such as postmasters, collectors 
of internal revenue, etc., and heads of bureaus in the departmental 
service, be included in the classified service, is transmitted herewith 
(Appendix No. 1). The report and recommendations are approved 
by me. 

LEGISLATION NEEDED TO ESTABLISH THE MERIT SYSTEM. 

In the interest of an efficient and economical administration of the 
vast business of the Government, I urge the necessity for the inaugu- 
ration of this important reform, and recommend that the necessary 
amendments be made to the laws governing appointments, such 
amendments to take effect not later than July 1, 1913, so that there 
may be secured to the people the benefits to be derived from a conduct 
of their affairs by officers selected on a merit basis and devoting their 
time and talents solely to the duties of their offices. 

CONSOLIDATION OF LIGHTHOUSE AND LIFE-SAVING SERVICES. 

The commission's report (Appendix No. 2) recommends that the 
Life-Saving Service of the Department of the Treasury be discon- 
tinued as a separate organization and that the maintenance and 
operation of the life-saving stations of the country- be made one of 



8 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the duties of the Bureau of Lighthouses of the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor. I concur in this recommendation and urge that 
the necessary legislation for carrying it into effect be enacted. 

Both of these services are organized and maintained for the same 
general purpose — the protection of life and property endangered along 
the coasts and other navigable waters. Both maintain stations along 
the coast, which are located for the most part in close proximity. 
Both have substantially the same business problems to meet in 
locating, constructing, and maintaining these stations; in recruiting 
the personnel; in manufacturing or purchasing equipment; in pur- 
chasing, housing in depots, and distributing supplies ; in operating a 
field-inspection service; in maintaining telephonic and other means 
of communication; in disbursing funds; in keeping proper books of 
accounts ; and in rendering reports showing financial and other trans- 
actions. The maintenance of two separate services, as at present, 
means a duplication of organization in respect to all of these oper- 
ations. The recommendation of the commission does not contem- 
plate any essential change in the work of the life-saving stations; it 
is for the transfer of the business management of these institutions 
to the Bureau of Lighthouses. That bureau being fully organized for 
the administration of stations of this character will be able to direct 
and manage these stations with comparatively little addition to its 
present force and equipment. The commission estimates that, in 
addition to the advantage that will be obtained through having these 
two services operated by the same organization, a direct economy will 
be secured of at least $100,000 annually, and that the saving will 
greatly exceed this sum after the first year. 

REVENUE-CUTTER SERVICE. 

The report of the commission on the Revenue-Cutter Service 
(Appendix No. 3) represents a detailed investigation of the history, 
organization, and activities of this branch of the Government service 
and its relations to other services. The conclusion is reached that all 
of the duties now being performed by this service can be performed 
with equal efficiency by other services and that a great economy will 
result by having these duties so performed. The commission accord- 
ingly recommends that the service be abolished as a distinct organi- 
zation; that its equipment be distributed among other services 
requiring the use of marine craft ; and that provision be made for the 
performance of the work now being done by it by such other services. 

With these fundamental recommendations of the commission I am 
in full accord, and I recommend that the necessary legislation be 
enacted to put them into effect. 

At the present time the Revenue-Cutter Service is organized as a 
naval establishment. The country is, in effect, maintaining two 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 9 

navies, and is using one of these navies for the performance of duties 
of a civil character. The maintenance of two separate naval estab- 
lishments entails unnecessary expense and is not in the interest of 
either efficiency or economy. In so far as the duties of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service are of a naval character, or are such as can readily be 
performed by the regular Naval Establishment, they should be per- 
formed by such establishment; in so far as they are of a purely civil 
character, use should be made of services organized and conducted 
upon a civil basis. 

In respect to the distribution of the equipment and duties of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service among other branches of the Government, 
the recommendation of the commission looks to the transfer to the 
Navy Department of the vessels which are adapted to deep-sea 
cruising and the discharge by the Naval Establishment of most of 
the duties now performed by the Revenue-Cutter Service upon the 
high seas. In memoranda submitted on the report of the commis- 
sion, copies of which are submitted with such report, on the one hand 
the Secretary of the Navy raises the question as to whether these 
duties can be performed by the regular Naval Establishment without 
detracting from its military efficiency, while on the other hand the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor raises the question whether cer- 
tain of these duties can not be performed by the Lighthouse Service 
if that service is provided with vessels suitable for the purpose. 

In view of these suggestions I recommend that, in the enactment 
of legislation providing for the abolition of .the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, provision be made for the transfer of all the vessels and 
equipment of the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury Depart- 
ment to the Department of Commerce and Labor; that the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor be directed to assign such vessels and equip- 
ment to the Lighthouse Establishment, Bureau of Fisheries, and 
other services under his jurisdiction requiring the use of vessels, as, 
in his judgment, is for the best interest of the public service, and that 
authority be given to him to turn over to the Navy such vessels as 
he may find, upon investigation, not to be required by his depart- 
ment and which by their character are fitted to serve as useful 
auxiliaries to the Naval Establishment. 

In thus recommending that the Revenue-Cutter Service as a 
separate establishment be abolished, I desire to make plain that 
such action does not carry with it the discontinuance of the 
rendering of any valuable and proper service now being rendered 
by that organization. On the contrary, I am persuaded that all 
such services will continue to be performed under the system recom- 
mended by me with equal or greater efficiency. 

It should be noted that the adoption of the recommendation 
here made will result in bringing under one general administra- 



10 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

tion all of the work of the Government having to do with the pro- 
tection of life and property at sea. This will result not only in 
greatly increased efficiency, but in a large saving. The Lighthouse 
Establishment is compelled by the nature of the work to maintain 
and operate a large fleet of vessels and supplementary administra- 
tive divisions, depots, inspection services, etc., to attend to matters 
pertaining to their business management. It is thus fully pre- 
pared to take over and operate the additional vessels that may be 
assigned to it and to perform the additional duties with which it 
may be intrusted at an added expense that will be small in com- 
parison with that now entailed in maintaining an independent service 
on a military basis. 

A further benefit of no little importance that will also be secured 
will be that of relieving the Department of the Treasury of duties 
which are in no ways germane to the primary function of that 
department. 

THE CONSOLIDATION OF AUDITING OFFICES. 

The report upon the organization and methods of work of the 
accounting offices of the Treasury (Appendix No. 4) recommends 
that the offices of the six auditors be consolidated under one auditor, 
and that the auditors of customs accounts located at the principal 
ports, and known as naval officers, be made assistants to the audi- 
tors. An increase in the efficiency of the Treasury audit will be 
one result of the carrying out of these recommendations, and the 
saving of expense when the consolidation has been fully completed 
will amount to at least $200,000 a year, based upon current appro- 
priations. The present organization, under which six independent 
auditors are engaged in the one work of final audit of the Govern- 
ment accounts, is certainly one that can produce only diversity of 
practice and procedure, inefficient use of personnel and equipment, 
and delay and uncertainty of requirements from which the public 
as well as officers of the Government must suffer. 

In my opinion a change in law to carry into effect these recommenda- 
tions of the commission, which have my approval, will be in the 
interest of the public service. 

THE RETURNS OFFICE. 

The report upon the "Returns Office" of the Department of the 
Interior (Appendix No. 5) recommends the abolition of that office 
and that provision for public inspection of Government contracts be 
made through the office of the auditors of the Treasury, in which 
offices the originals of all contracts are filed. It also recommends the 
substitution of a certificate for the affidavit required to be attached 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 11 

to the contracts of the Departments of War, the Navy, and the Inte- 
rior, and an amendment of the statute which now requires all the 
contracts of those departments to be in writing. I transmit letters 
from the secretaries of the departments referred to, concurring in 
the conclusions and recommendations of the commission. I approve 
the report and commend it to the favorable consideration of the 
Congress. 

GOVERNMENT EXPENSES FOR TRAVEL. 

The report upon " Travel expenditures" of officers and employees 
of the Government (Appendix No. 6) presents a view of existing condi- 
tions that can lead to but one conclusion — that under the existing laws, 
and regulations and practices pursuant thereto, the allowances for 
travel are as varied as there are executive departments. The same 
classes of officers and employees are receiving different rates of allow- 
ances, depending only upon the department or bureau in which they 
are employed. Under similar conditions there should be uniformity. 
The report recommends that all allowances in the form of mileage 
be discontinued and that actual cost of transportation be paid; that 
in lieu of payment of actual cost of other expenses, commonly known 
as subsistence, which would include lodging, a scale of per diem 
allowances be established by the President for the several classes of 
officers and employees. It is also recommended by the commission 
that all accounts for reimbursement of traveling expenses shall be 
certified as to correctness in lieu of the requirement of law in many 
cases that the verification be by affidavit. The latter procedure is 
troublesome and expensive, and the penalty for a false certification 
is fully as valuable in its deterrent effect as the penalty for making 
a false affidavit. 

With the report are the comments of the War and the Navy De- 
partments, made at my request. The report of the commission has 
my approval, and the suggestions therein for a change in the law on 
the subject are submitted with a request for action in accordance 
therewith. 

HANDLING AND FILING OF CORRESPONDENCE. 

The handling and filing of correspondence constitutes one of the 
business processes of the Government to which, as pointed out in my 
message of January 17, the commission has paid especial attention. 
The investigations of existing conditions have brought our clearly 
that, in many cases, present methods are inefficient and entail large, 
unnecessary costs. The features of present practices which stand out- 
most prominently as entailing large, unnecessary labor and expense 
pertain to the briefing, press copying, and recording and indexing of 
communications. A statement has been prepared giving the results 



12 BEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of an investigation of the salary cost entailed in performing these 
operations in the several departments at Washington. It is the 
opinion of the commission that the operations of briefing and press- 
copying letters can be entirely eliminated, and that the recording and 
indexing of incoming and outgoing letters can be reduced at least 50 
per cent. 

Though the commission is making independent investigations of 
methods followed in handling and filing correspondence in certain 
bureaus and services, the results of which will be embodied in reports 
describing such methods, pointing out wherein they aie defective, 
and recommending changes to make them conform to the most ap- 
proved practices, the general policy pursued is that of working in 
close cooperation with the departments and services through the 
means of joint committees. To the end that these committees might 
all work as nearly as possible along uniform lines, and that the depart- 
ments and establishments might have before them the conclusions 
reached by the commission relative to fundamental principles and 
the best practices in respect to the performance of this class of work, 
the commission has prepared, and I have sent to the heads of depart- 
ments a memorandum setting forth the principles which should govern 
in the matter of handling and filing of correspondence. This memo- 
randum also contains suggestions for the use of labor-saving devices 
in preparing and mailing letters. I am transmitting herewith a copy 
of this memorandum (Appendix No. 7). 

On the basis of this memorandum active efforts are now being 
made in all of the departments for the improvement of the methods 
of handling and filing of correspondence. These efforts have resulted 
in radical changes in existing methods and the effecting of large econ- 
omies. The flat filing system has been substituted for the old cum- 
brous folded and indorsement system. Carbon copies of letters have 
been substituted for press copies. The briefing of documents has 
been entirely discontinued in a number of services, and in others the 
maintenance of book records of incoming and outgoing communica- 
tions has been discontinued. The effort is being made to make 
correspondence files self-indexing, and thus avoid the necessity for 
making and using secondary finding devices. This work can only be 
intelligently prosecuted as the result of painstaking and detail inves- 
tigation of the special conditions to be met in each particular service. 
Many months will, therefore, be required to carry out this work 
throughout the entire Government. It is of the utmost importance 
that the work should be prosecuted under a general supervision or 
direction such as is furnished by the present commission. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 13 
DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS. 

Attention is called to the report of the commission transmitted to 
the Congress with my message of February 5, and to the supplement- 
ary statement sent herewith (Appendix No. 8) on the centralization 
of distribution of Government publications. By adopting this recom- 
mendation it is conservatively estimated that $242,000 annually can be 
saved. This is exclusive of the saving which could be made by handling 
the congressional documents in the same manner. An account kept for 
31 days with the volume of this business of handling congressional 
documents showed an average of 21 tons per day. These documents 
were first taken from the Printing Office to the Capitol, then from 
the Capitol to the post office, then hauled back to the Union Station, 
the latter being but a short distance from the Printing Office. An 
up-to-date plant at the Printing Office which could handle all this 
would entail an increased capital outlay for permanent equipment of 
only about $75,000. The recommendation for centralizing the dis- 
tribution of documents from the departments, if acted on, will affect 
the appropriation of seven departments, fiye independent establish- 
ments, and the Washington post office. 

I may say in connection with this report and recommendation 
that the House of representatives, in passing the Agricultural 
appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1913, instead of reducing the 
cost of distributing Government publications in the Department of 
Agriculture by $137,000, has increased to the extent of $13,260 the 
amount appropriated for salaries for the Division of Publications 
over the appropriation for the current year. 

OUTLINES OF ORGANIZATION. 

The outlines of organization of the Government, which were trans- 
mitted with the message of January 17, have been sent to each of 
the departments, with a request that orders issue which will require 
that the outline be kept up to date (Appendix No. 9). This will 
not only make available at all times the information needed by 
Congress or the administration when called for, and assist materially 
in the preparation of estimates of appropriations, but will make 
unnecessary the publication of the Official Register, thereby saving 
approximately $45,000 for each issue. 

Conclusion. 

In submitting these reports with recommendations, I will state 
that in my opinion each of the foregoing recommendations, if acted 



14 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

on, will contribute largely to increase efficiency. Directly and indi- 
rectly the changes proposed will result in the saving of many mil- 
lions of dollars of public funds. This will leave the Congress free to 
determine whether the amount thus saved shall be utilized to reduce 
taxation or to provide funds with which to extend activities already 
carried on and to enter on beneficial projects which otherwise could 
not be undertaken for lack of funds. 

Again I urge upon the Congress the desirability of providing what- 
ever funds can be used effectively to carry forward with all possible 
vigor the work now well begun. The $200,000 required for the 
prosecution of the inquiry during the ensuing year and the $50,000 
estimated for the publication of results are inconsiderable in com- 
parison with the economies which can be realized. 

Wm. H. Taftj 

The White House, April 4, 1912. 



APPENDIX No. 1 



METHODS OF APPOINTMENT 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 2 . 15 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Recommendations 17 

Introduction 18 

1. Senate appointments 18 

2. The classified service 19 

Senate appointments 20 

1. Ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls 20 

2. Heads of departments 21 

3. Assistant secretaries 21 

4. Heads and assistant heads of bureaus 22 

1. Method of appointment 23 

2. Method of removal 24 

3. Qualifications 24 

4. Assistant chiefs of bureaus 25 

5. Heads of bureaus now political officers 25 

6. Qualifications required 29 

5. Other officers in the departments at Washington 31 

6. Local officers 32 

7. Fixed terms 34 

EXHIBITS. 

1. Regulations governing appointments and promotions in the Consular 

Service 36 

2 . Extract from regulations governing the Public Health and Marine-Hospital 

Service 38 

16 



METHODS OF APPOINTMENT. 

December 15, 1911. 
The President: 

The Commission on Economy and Efficiency has the honor to sub- 
mit the following report in reference to the methods of appointment 
now followed in the case of certain officers of the Government : 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The commission recommends : 

1. That it be provided by law that all assistant secretaries of the 
executive departments, now appointed by the President by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be appointed by the Presi- 
dent alone. 

2. That if the foregoing recommendation is adopted one of the 
assistant secretaries in each department, to whom shall be given the 
duties of an under secretary or general business manager, shall be 
placed in the competitive classified service. 

3. That it be provided by law that all heads and assistant heads of 
bureaus and offices in the executive departments, who are now 
appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, shall be appointed by the President alone. 

4. That if the foregoing recommendation is adopted the positions 
of heads and assistant heads of bureaus be placed in the competitive 
classified service and that the President in respect to such bureaus 
cause to be embodied in regulations the special qualifications that 
must be possessed by persons in order to be eligible for appointment 
to such positions. 

5. That it be -provided by law that all officers in the executive 
civil service at Washington, who are now appointed by the President 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, excepting assistant 
secretaries of executive departments and heads of bureaus and offices 
in the executive departments, shall be appointed by the head of 
department or other Government establishment to which the}^ are 
attached. 

6. That it be provided by law that all local officers under any of 
the executive departments (such as customs officers, internal-revenue 
officers, postmasters, marshals, supervising inspectors in the Steam- 
boat-Inspection Service, commissioners of immigration, registers and 
receivers of district land offices, surveyors general, pension agents, 
etc.), who are now appointed by the President by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, be appointed by the President alone. 

7. That if the foregoing recommendation is adopted, such positions 
be placed in the competitive classified service and that the President 
in respect to each class of such positions cause to be embodied in 
regulations the special qualifications that must be possessed by 
persons in order to be eligible for appointment to such positions. 

17 



18 BEPORTS OF THE. COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

8 . That all acts of Congress which prescribe a fixed term of a given 
number of years for any officers in the executive civil service of the 
Government at Washington or in the field be repealed. 

Finally the commission has in this report called attention to the 
powers possessed by the President, under section 1753 of the Revised 
Statutes to provide qualifications for entrance into the civil service 
of the United States and suggests that these powers, which have 
already been exercised in the case of consuls, be exercised as well in 
the case of other officers now appointed by the President by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, who are now appointed without 
any formal examination of their qualifications. 

INTRODUCTION. 

1. Senate Appointments. 

The methods of appointment to the administrative services of the 
United States Government are stated in Article, II, section 2, of the 
Constitution, which provides that the President — 

shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint 
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and 
all other officers of the United States whose appointments are not herein otherwise 
provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law 
vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President 
alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

This section is interpreted as providing for appointment by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate of all officers where some 
other one of the constitutional methods of appointment has not been 
provided by an act of Congress. (13 Opin. Atty. Gen., 98; ibid., 8.) 

Although there are quite a few special statutory provisions which 
vest the power to appoint to particular positions in some other than 
the ordinary appointing authority, there are not at the present time 
any general acts in force with regard to appointments except acts 
such as the act affecting fourth-class postmasters (19 Stat. L., 80, 
sec. 6) and what is now section 169 of the Revised Statutes, vesting 
an appointing power in the heads of the departments. By the former 
law fourth-class postmasters are to be appointed by the Postmaster 
General. By section 169 — 

each head of a department is authorized to employ in his department such number 
of clerks of the several classes recognized by law and such messengers, assistant mes- 
sengers, copyists, watchmen, laborers, and other employees * * * as may be 
appropriated for by Congress from year to year. 

The Court of Claims has held, however, that Congress may by law 
provide some constitutional method of appointment, other than by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for all officers inferior 
to those in whom the power of appointment may be vested, i. e., the 
President alone, the courts of law, and the heads of departments. 
(Collins's case, 14 C. Cls., 569.) Conformable to this construction of 
the Constitution Congress may vest the power of appointing such 
officers as heads of bureaus in the President or even in the heads of 
departments. In fact, Congress has vested in the President alone the 
power to appoint heads of particular bureaus (the Bureau of Manu- 
factures, the Lighthouse Bureau, and the Bureau of Corporations, in 
the Department of Commerce and Labor) and in the Secretary of 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 19 

Agriculture the power to appoint the heads of all bureaus in the 
Department of Agriculture except the Weather Bureau. 

Furthermore, it is the practice of the Government to regard an act 
which empowers the head of a department to do specific things when 
accompanied by a lump-sum appropriation as authorizing such head 
of department within the limits of the appropriation to employ the 
persons necessary to enable him to exercise the powers granted. In 
this way the reclamation act of 1902, which itself makes provision for 
an available fund, is regarded as authorizing the Secretary of the 
Interior, upon whom it confers power, to employ the Director of the 
Reclamation Service and other necessary employees. 

Congress may also vest in the President or in the head of a depart- 
ment the power to appoint the various local subordinates of the 
departments, such as collectors, postmasters, registers and receivers 
of land offices, and district attorneys. But as yet, with the exception 
of the positions mentioned in the postal law, in section 169 of the 
Revised Statutes, and certain acts similar to the reclamation act, no 
such action has been taken. It is often the case, particularly so far as 
concerns local officers, that Congress has specifically provided in the 
acts establishing the offices that the incumbents thereof shall be 
appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. 

2. The Classified Service. 

All positions in the executive civil service of the United States 
which are not filled by appointment by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate and are not occupied by laborers are declared by 
civil-service Rule II, adopted in 1902, to constitute the " classified 
service" of the United States. 

The term " classified service" by itself, and unaccompanied by a 
history of the administrative service of the Government, gives no 
hint even of its significance. The civil-service act of 1883 empowered 
the President to prepare rules, which should provide for — 

open competitive examinations for testing the fitness of applicants for the public 
service now classified or to be classified hereunder. 

The classification already in existence »to which reference was here 
made was that made by section 163 of the Revised Statutes, dating 
from 1853, of department clerks into four classes. Other provisions 
of law had also recognized such classes as those of chief clerks, dis- 
bursing clerks, and chiefs of divisions. The classification in existence 
prior to 1902, and resulting from the rules adopted in pursuance of 
the civil-service act, was: The departmental service, including the 
various classes of clerks mentioned; the customhouse service; the 
Post Office service; the Government Printing Office service; and 
Internal-Revenue Service. For each of these services different rules 
were adopted. In 1902 this classification was abandoned and the 
present more comprehensive statement of the extent of the classified 
service was adopted. 

Inasmuch as the civil-service law and the rules adopted thereunder, 
which ultimately came to affect removals as well as appointments, 
apply only to the classified service, the term " classified service" has 
come to signify that part of the executive civil service of the United 
States entrance to which and separation from which are regulated 



20 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY, 

by the civil-service rules and which therefore constitutes the non- 
political service of the country. Strictly speaking, however, not all 
those who are recognized by civil -service Rule II as in the classified 
service are in the competitive nonpolitical service, since Schedule A 
of the civil-service rules specially excepts from the operation of most 
of them quite a long list of positions, among them being positions 
appointment to which is made by the President alone, and positions 
which are regarded as in the nature of positions of confidence, between 
the incumbents of which and the appointing officer close personal 
relations exist. 

Outside of these excepted positions, however, appointment to a 
position in the classified service follows the successful passing of an 
examination conducted by the Civil Service Commission, and is made 
by the head of an executive department under section 169 of the 
Revised Statutes or some similar statutory provision. The appoint- 
ment of a person not already in the classified service to a position 
therein is nearly always made to one of the lower positions. Appoint- 
ment to the higher positions in that service is almost invariably made 
as the result of the promotion of one at the time in the classified 
service. In the case of some of the technical and professional services, 
however, the positions to which appointment is made of persons out- 
side of the service are of comparatively high rank. 

SENATE APPOINTMENTS. 

Generally speaking the executive and administrative officers who 
are appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate are of six classes : 

1. Ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls. 

2. Heads of departments. 

3. Assistant secretaries. 

4. Heads and assistant heads of bureaus. 

5. Other officers in the departments. 

6. Local officers, such as collectors of customs, etc. 

1. Ambassadors, Other Public Ministers, and Consuls. 

With regard to the first of these classes it may be said that no 
method of appointment, except that by the President by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, is regarded as constitutionally pos- 
sible, since this method is provided specifically by the Constitution. 

It has, however, been felt, particularly in recent years, that appoint- 
ment by the President by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate was in the case of consuls objectionable as giving to political 
considerations too great an influence in the appointment to these 
positions, and the attempt has been made by Executive order to 
provide qualifications for the office which a candidate must possess in 
order to be nominated to the Senate by the President. This attempt 
was made by an Executive order issued June 27, 1906, which, with the 
purpose of securing qualified persons as consuls, prescribes certain 
"Regulations governing appointments and promotions ' ; for the Con- 
sular Service. (See Exhibit 1.) 

It is thus seen that it is possible for the President, even in the case 
of Senate appointments, to provide under section 1753 of the Revised 
Statutes for qualifications of capacity, which must be shown by all 
candidates for appointment. These regulations are, however, depend- 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 21 

ent for their effective enforcement upon the cooperation of the 
Senate, since the Senate may, if it sees fit, refuse to confirm the 
appointment of one who has been nominated by the President after 
having passed successfully the examination provided by the 
regulations. 

2. Heads of Departments. 

Little need be said with regard to the appointment of the heads of 
departments since they are properly regarded as distinctly political 
officers and since it is rarely the case that the Senate fails to confirm 
the appointment of a head of department by the President. 

3. Assistant Secretaries. 

In respect to these officers the commission believes that a distinc- 
tion should be made between those having the duty of assisting the 
secretaries in respect to the general supervision and control of all 
the services comprehended by the department and those having for 
their duty supervision and direction over the manner in which the 
business operations of the departments are conducted. 

In other reports the commission lays emphasis upon the impor- 
tance of intrusting to one assistant secretary in each department the 
duty of exercising direct supervision and control over the business 
methods followed. In these reports the position is taken that in 
each department there should be one assistant secretary who would 
in effect be the business manager of the department. There is little 
doubt that one of the needs of the administrative service of the 
United States at the present time is the existence in each department 
of an officer of this character who will be intrusted with the routine 
or general business administration of the department, and whose 
knowledge of the needs of the department may be placed at the dis- 
position of the head of the department. 

This distinction is of importance from the standpoint of the present 
report, since the commission believes that different methods should be 
followed in appointing to these two classes of positions. 

In respect to the first, that is, the assistant secretaries acting as the 
general assistants to the secretaries, the commission recognizes that 
in a measure at least these officers are responsible for the policy of the 
administration and that they should on that account be differentiated 
from the ordinary members of the classified service as now organized. 
To this extent these officers may be said to have a quasi-political 
character. Nevertheless, as primarily administrative officers, the 
commission believes that their appointment should be made by the 
President alone, and it so recommends. 

In respect to the second class, that is, assistant secretaries acting as 
general business managers, the commission believes that their non- 
political character should be definitely recognized. In order that an 
assistant secretary of this character may satisfactorily fill the post to 
which he is appointed, two things are necessary. These are, first, 
that he shall be qualified and, second, that he shall be permanent. 
Inasmuch as his qualifications are in great measure dependent upon 
the permanence of his incumbency it is more necessary that incum- 
bency of office be actually permanent than that the incumbent be 
theoretically qualified. 



22 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

First. How may the position of undersecretary or business manager 
be actually permanent? 

The actual permanence of incumbency may be secured by providing 
that he shall be made a member of the competitive classified service. 
If the present definition of the classified service be retained, his inclu- 
sion in the classified service necessarily involves the abandonment of 
the method of appointment usually provided by law at the present 
time, viz, by the President by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate. At the present time the Assistant Secretary of Commerce 
and Labor is by law appointed by the President, and not by the Presi- 
dent by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. If, further, 
Schedule A of the civil-service rules were so amended as to permit of 
the inclusion in the competitive service of persons appointed by the 
President alone, it might also be provided that one assistant secretary 
in each department, who should be in the competitive classified serv- 
ice, should be appointed by the President alone. 

Appointment by the President alone is preferable to appointment 
by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
since Senate appointments are usually to offices regarded as political 
in character, and the purpose of placing one assistant secretary in 
each department in the competitive classified service is to emphasize 
the nonpolitical character of the position. Furthermore, so long as 
the civil-service act remains in its present form it is difficult to make 
any special provisions for securing the necessary qualifications on 
the part of any person appointed by the President by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. 

Second. How shall the necessary qualifications for the position be 
secured ? 

The mere inclusion of an assistant secretary in the competitive 
classified service not only would have the effect of making the position 
permanent and thereby of causing the person appointed to be qualified 
as the result of the experience acquired in the performance of the 
duties of the office, but would also bring it about that the position 
would ordinarily be filled as the result of promotion from among 
those already in the classified service. Such a method of appoint- 
ment would thus of itself also bring into the position of assistant 
secretary one who had considerable administrative experience. 

The commission accordingly recommends that provision be made 
by law for the appointment, in each department, of an assistant sec- 
retary who will discharge the duties of a general business manager; 
that this officer be appointed by the President alone, as is recom- 
mended in the case of the other assistant secretaries; but that this 
position be placed in the competitive classified service. 

4. Heads and Assistant Heads of Bureaus. 

The departments are, when of large size, usually divided into 
bureaus or offices, at the head of each of which is either an officer 
with a distinctive title, as is the case with certain of the offices in the 
Department of the Treasury, such as the comptroller, the treasurer, 
and register, or a commissioner, superintendent, director, chief, or 
head. 

In some of the smaller departments, such as the Department of 
State, the sections of the department are called bureaus, but their 
heads are appointed by the head of the department. These sections 



KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 23 

are not treated as legally in the position of bureaus; i. e., their heads 
or chiefs are regarded rather as clerks than as heads of bureaus (21 
Op. Atty. Gen., 363), and as a result the Secretary may distribute the 
work of the department among the various employees as he sees fit. 

In the case of the Departments of War and Navy, also, where the 
heads of the bureaus are chosen from among military and naval 
officers, the bureau heads do not have all the characteristics of heads 
of ordinary bureaus. Thus in the case of the Department of the 
Navy the assistants of such heads of bureaus, being commissioned 
naval officers serving as the result of a detail and not of any statutory 
provisions, may not perform the duties of the chief, as is usually the 
case under section 178 of the Revised Statutes, in the case of his 
absence, sickness, etc. 

Finally, there are in some departments services which in many 
cases grew up outside of the departments to which they are now 
attached, either in connection with some other department or inde- 
pendently of any department, and which occupy the position of 
bureaus but do not have the name. Such are: 

The Geological Survey, established in 1879, in the Department of 
the Interior and under the direction of a director appointed without 
fixed term by the President by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate. 

The Coast and Geodetic Survey, now in the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor and under a superintendent appointed without 
term by the President by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. 

The Steamboat-Inspection Service, in the same department and 
under a supervising inspector general appointed without term by 
the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

The Life-Saving Service, in the Department of the Treasury and 
under the control of a superintendent appointed without term by 
the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

The Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, in the Depart- 
ment of the Treasury and under the control of a surgeon general 
appointed without term by the President by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate. 

The Reclamation Service, in the Department of the Interior, under 
the control of a director employed by the Secretary of the Interior 
without term. 

1. Method of appointment. — The heads or chiefs of bureaus, 
services, or offices corresponding to bureaus, are at the present time 
usually, but not always, appointed by the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. In certain cases, such as the 
Bureau of Manufactures, the Bureau of Corporations, and the Bureau 
of Lighthouses, in the Department of Commerce and Labor, they are 
appointed by the President alone. In other cases, such as the so- 
called bureaus in the State Department, and of all the bureaus, except 
the Weather Bureau, in the Department of Agriculture, they are 
appointed by the Secretary of the department. 

In most instances the heads of bureaus are appointed without 
definite term. The only exceptions to this rule are the heads of the 
following bureaus: 

All the heads of the bureaus of the War Department are appointed 
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
for a period of four years. 



24 BEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The Comptroller of the Currency and the Director of the Mint, in the 
Treasury Department, are appointed by the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of five years, unless 
removed by the President upon reasons to be communicated to the 
Senate. The commandant and chief of division of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, also in the Treasury Department, is appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a 
term of four years and is reeligible. 

The heads of all the bureaus in the Navy Department are appointed 
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
for a term of four years. 

In the Department of Commerce and Labor the Commissioner of 
Labor is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, for a term of four years. 

2. Method of removal. — It is seldom the case that the statutes have 
anything to say about the removal of the head of a bureau. The only 
exceptions to this rule are the Comptroller of the Currency and the 
Director of the Mint, whose terms of five years may be shortened by 
removal by the President upon reasons to be communicated to the 
Senate; and the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries who, according to 
law, is removable at the pleasure of the President. The general prin- 
ciples of law applicable to the power of removal apply, therefore, to 
most of the heads of bureaus who may be removed by the President 
or by the head of department appointing them. 

3. Qualifications. — There are few instances in which the law pro- 
vides for any qualifications for those who are appointed as the heads 
of bureaus. Such qualifications are provided specifically in the 
case of: 

1. All the bureaus in the Department of Agriculture except the 
Weather Bureau. Thus the Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry must be 
a chemist, the Chief of the Bureau of Entomology must be an ento- 
mologist, and so on. 

2. The Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service must be familiar 
with the means employed in the service for the saving of life and 
property. 

3. The Supervising Inspector General of the Steamboat-Inspection 
Service is to be selected with reference to his fitness and ability to 
systematize and carry into effect all the provisions of the law relating 
to the Steamboat-Inspection Service. 

4. The Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries shall be a person of 
scientific and practical acquaintance with fish and the fisheries. 

No method, however, is provided by law for the ascertainment of 
the existence of these qualifications. 

In addition to the heads of bureaus just mentioned, there are a 
number of bureaus whose heads may be appointed only from certain 
ranks of a well-recognized service. This is true of the bureaus in the 
Departments of War and of the Navy, and of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, and of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service. In 
the Revenue-Cutter Service the captain, commandant, and chief of 
division must be appointed from active officers of the line of the rank 
of captain. In the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, the 
Surgeon General must be chosen from assistant surgeons general and 
surgeons . 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 25 

It is very doubtful whether the mere statement in the law that 
certain qualifications shall be required for a particular office will 
secure the desired qualifications. It is, of course, true that the further 
step may be taken of fixing a means by which such qualifications shall 
be evidenced. This has been done in the case of the Public Health 
and Marine-Hospital Service. The law of June 4, 1889, provides that 
original appointments shall be to the grade of assistant surgeon and 
that no medical officer shall be appointed who has not passed certain 
examinations to be conducted in accordance with — 

rules prepared by the Supervising Surgeon General and approved by the Secretary of 
the Treasury and the President. 1 

Here again, as in the case of the consular regulations, it may be 
remarked that the effective enforcement of qualifications for offices, 
appointment to which is by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, is dependent upon the cooperation of the 
Senate. 

4. Assistant chiefs of bureaus.- — In a number of instances provision 
is made for one or more assistants or deputies for the head of a bureau 
or service. 

In the Departments of War and of the Navy the practice would 
seem to prevail of detailing military and naval officers to assist the 
heads of the different bureaus, but these assistants, as has been 
pointed out, do not have all the characteristics of civilian assistants 
of bureau heads. 

Assistants or deputies of heads of bureaus are usually appointed 
without fixed term in the same manner as their chiefs. 

The usual method of appointment is by the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. In some cases this is specifi- 
cally pro Added by statute, as, e. g., in the case of the assistant treas- 
urer (R. S., sec. 303) and of the assistant register (ibid., sec. 314), 
but it has been held by the Attorney General that this is the method 
of appointment where nothing is said in the law as to the matter 
(15 Op. Atty. Gen., 3). Very seldom are any qualifications of ca- 
pacity required by law for the position of assistant to a bureau head. 

What is hereafter said as to the method of appointing and the 
qualifications of heads of bureaus applies with equal force to their 
assistants, who should be regarded as understudies of their chiefs 
and as in the line of promotion. 

5. Heads of bureaus now political officers. — In the foregoing we have 
given a statement of present conditions in respect to the appointment 
of heads and assistant heads of bureaus. It now remains for us to 
consider the extent to which, in our opinion, changes should be 
made in such conditions. 

It will be noticed that, with few exceptions, the heads or chiefs of 
bureaus and similar offices, whatever designation may have been given 
to them, such as director, superintendent, treasurer, register, auditor, 
and commissioner, are appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, or by the President alone. Because 
of the provisions of the civil-service act or of the civil-service rules 
which exclude from the competitive classified service all positions to 

1 These regulations, so far as they affect the appointment of persons appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, are set forth in Exhibit 2. 



26 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

which appointment is made by the President, either by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate or alone, the heads of bureaus, with 
few exceptions, are outside of the competitive classified and even of 
the classified service. Furthermore, there are, except in a few serv- 
ices, no qualifications of capacity provided either by law or by 
Executive order for the position of head of bureau, nor, outside of 
exceptional cases, is it necessary that the position be filled by promo- 
tion. In other words, the position of head of bureau is clearly re- 
garded as a political one. 

The commission believes that this condition of affairs is unfortunate. 
In its opinion these offices should be looked upon as primarily ad- 
ministrative positions; political considerations should have little or 
no influence in the selection of the persons to fill them; the incum- 
bency of office should be permanent; and these offices should con- 
stitute a part of the competitive classified service. 

It accordingly believes : 

1. That it should be provided by law that those heads of bureaus 
who are now appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, shall be appointed by the President alone; 

2. That it should be provided by law that all appointments made 
to such offices should be without term; 

3. That, if the foregoing recommendations are adopted, these posi- 
tions be placed in the competitive classified service; and 

4. That the President, through the Civil Service Commission or 
other officials, cause to be made, in respect to each service individually, 
an inquiry regarding the special qualifications, in the way of educa- 
tion, experience, training, or otherwise, that persons, whether in or 
outside the Government, shall have in order to be eligible for appoint- 
ment to the position of head or assistant head of such service; and, 
when such qualifications are determined, that they be embodied in 
regulations. 

If these recommendations are adopted, the President in filling a 
vacancy in any such position can proceed in any one of the following 
three ways: 

In the first place, he can make a selection of some person already in 
the competitive classified service who has such qualifications as may 
be required by the regulations. In this case he will not be compelled 
to confine his choice to persons in the service to be presided over by 
the bureau chief to be selected, but may make his selection from 
persons in any branch of the Government. In this connection the 
recommendation of the commission that all field officers be made a 
part of the competitive classified service should be borne in mind. 
This is important, since in many cases the man most qualified to fill 
the position of bureau chief will be the official who has proved his 
competency in directing work in the field. There is a great advan- 
tage to be obtained in many cases from placing in charge of a service a 
person who has had practical experience in the work to be done in 
the field. 

The commission believes that this method should be, and in actual 
practice probably will be, the one followed by the President in the 
great majority of cases. It is of the opinion, not only that the best 
man in the great majority of cases can be found in this way, but also 
that a great stimulus and incentive to good work will be provided 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 27 

throughout the Government service if it is generally believed that the 
responsible positions will, as a rule, be filled by promotion from the 
ranks. 

In the second place, if the President is unwilling to promote without 
examination some one in the competitive classified service he can call 
upon the Civil Service Commission to hold a special examination. In 
this case he can provide either for a pass or a competitive examination, 
or in case of a competitive examination that the competition shall be 
open to persons in the Government service alone or to all persons 
whether in or outside of the Government service. He can further- 
more lay down requirements in respect to experience, education, and 
other qualifications that must be met by persons presenting them- 
selves for examination. 

In the third place, if the President has in mind some particular 

Eerson not in the competitive classified service whom he believes to 
e specially qualified for the position, and whom he desires to appoint, 
he can order a special exception to be made in his case. This method 
should be followed only in rare instances and in respect to positions 
of a technical character where the President desires to secure for the 
Government the services of some particular person whose special 
qualifications for the position are well recognized. 

The position here taken by the commission has, in substance, been 
repeatedly taken by officials intimately concerned with the manage- 
ment of Government affairs. 

The evils of the appointment of heads of bureaus for political con- 
siderations, where the terms of office are short, are well stated in the 
preliminary report of the Congressional Joint Commission on the 
Business Methods of the Postal Service, in 1908: 1 

We have already called attention to the bureau system in the Post Office Depart- 
ment and to the fact that the appointments to the offices of the Postmaster General 
and Assistant Postmasters General are purely political. They run for short periods of 
years, and their holders, with few exceptions, have had no previous experience in the 
postal service. At the end of a few years, at which time it may be supposed they have 
attained some familiarity with the details of the business which they are administer- 
ing, they go out of office. The remuneration attached to the positions of Assistant 
Postmasters General is so small that of necessity the incumbents must have private 
means. It is hardly reasonable to suppose that any man of ability would be willing 
to retain his position for more than a few years, at the end of which time he must feel 
that the sacrifices he has made for the Government service are sufficient. Upon their 
acceptance of office the Postmaster General and his Assistants find themselves involved 
in a mass of administrative work of which they may have had no previous knowledge, 
and that little time is at their disposal to master the many intricate details of the busi- 
ness which they are called upon to administer. At the best they can only hope to 
master the work of the few divisions which form their particular bureau, and from this 
it follows that each bureau has developed into a separate organization, operated with- 
out regard to the interests of the service as a whole. 

In a large private business an entirely different condition of affairs is found. The 
administrative heads have usually worked their way up through the whole organiza- 
tion in its various states and are carefully selected for their experience and their knowl- 
edge of the business for which they are to be held responsible, and the salaries attached 
to those positions will generally be found to be many times in excess of those paid in 
the Government service. These men are held directly responsible by the board of 
directors and the stockholders for the success of their administration; and, on the other 
hand, they are given an entirely free hand in the selection and control of their subordi- 
nates, of whose ability they carefully satisfy themselves. If it is necessary, as in the 
case of large railroad companies, to divide the operation of the business into sections, 
full responsibility for the operation of each section thereof is thrown upon the officers 
selected for the purpose, who are at the same time required to keep in close touch with 

i H. Rept. No. 698, 60th Cong., 1st sess., Feb. 10, 1908. 



28 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the executive head and with the heads of the allied divisions; and by means of com- 
mittees of directors and officials and of the system of making the head of each division 
directly responsible to his superior for his work, a homogeneous and uniform system of 
administration of the highest character is assured throughout. 

It may be argued that the Government service differs entirely from a private cor- 
poration in that it does not aim at profits; but it surely should aim at the efficiency 
which, in private enterprises, insures profits, and the Post Office Department, at least, 
is a large business institution, whose sole object is to collect, transport, and distribute 
mail satisfactorily, without any expense to the community, at the cheapest possible 
rates. 

Another feature of difference is that the responsible managers of a private institu- 
tion frequently have a direct pecuniary interest in the results obtained, whereas in 
the Government departments the financial interest of the heads is limited to keeping 
their expenditures within the authorized appropriations, and expending as much as 

f)ossible thereof so as to avoid reductions in succeeding years. This would naturally 
ead to extravagance, which is restricted by Congress by voting minimum 
appropriations. 

Postmaster General Wilson, in 1896, in recommending that Assist- 
ant Postmasters General be given permanent terms, declared: 

It is safe to say that the proper training of the bureau chief up to the point where 
he may have a vigorous grasp and accurate knowledge of his duties is a very costly 
thing for the Government. 

The policy of recent administrations would seem to be more and 
more characterized by the attempt in filling these positions to lay 
weight upon the qualifications of capacity and fitness as evidenced 
by work in the Government service rather than upon political con- 
siderations. 

The Civil Service Commission in its report for 1910 points out that 
in pursuance of this policy — 

The present First and Second Assistant Postmasters General were promoted from 
classified positions in the department. The present Commissioner of Patents and six 
other presidential appointees in the Department of the Interior were also appointed 
by promotion from classified positions, and reappointments to presidential positions 
in that department because of satisfactory service are becoming more frequent. 

In another place the commission says : 

There is a growing tendency to fill positions of unusual requirements and positions 
of trust, whether or not included in the competitive service, such as those of Assistant 
Attorney, special Treasury agent, Assistant Postmaster, and cashiers in customhouses 
and post offices, by promotion or transfer of competent persons in the service^ In the 
Department of Justice 9 of the 26 attorneys and assistant attorneys were appointed by 
promotion, a very large proportion, considering the fact that the source of supply in 
the lower ranks is limited. In the same department 8 of the 13 men who have received 
appointment to the position of Assistant Attorney General since the beginning of 
President Roosevelt's administration were advanced by promotion. The Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor in his recent report makes the following statement with regard 
to presidential appointments: 

"In six instances former incumbents of the positions were reappointed. In two 
instances persons outside of the service were selected on account of their well-known 
qualifications. In the remaining eight instances selections were made of persons who 
had been previously employed in the classified service. Thus it will be seen that 
with respect to the positions which are entirely divorced from the civil-service system 
political considerations have been eliminated and the merit system installed." 

The extension of the merit principle is further evidenced by the growing practice 
of disregarding political considerations in the appointment and retention of presi- 
dential officers. A marked instance of this is found in the policy of the Post Office 
Department to retain postmasters who have been found proficient. 

The Secretary of Commerce and Labor in his report for 1910 says 
that — 

Important appointments without the classified service have been made with a, 
view to merit. Three chiefs of bureaus, as well as a number of other important presi- 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 29 

dential appointments during the administration, have been selected from the classified 
service on account of experience and attainments and because of apparent fitness for 
the positions to be filled. 

Indeed the demand is being made in the recent reports of heads of 
departments that the present method of appointment of heads of 
bureaus, viz., by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, be changed in the interest of economical and efficient 
administration, since if they were appointed by the President alone 
or by the heads of departments they might be included in the classified 
service and thus secure the permanence of tenure and freedom from 
political influences which are characteristic of the classified service. 

Thus the Secretary of the Treasury in his report for 1910 (pp. 12-13) 
says: 

Anyone who comes close to the practical administration of the Federal Government — ■ 
or of any other Government — soon becomes aware that everything ultimate or final 
in the excellence of administration must wait upon the complete inclusion of all non- 
political offices within the classified service, and that progress in the administration 
meanwhile will materially depend upon the broadening of that service. The frequent 
presidential extensions of the classified service to include more and more of the posi- 
tions within the control of the Executive — including the extensions by President 
Taft — have practically exhausted the exclusive opportunities of the President, and 
enlargement will hereafter be a matter for the cooperation of Congress with the 
President. But there is no reason why the purely administrative offices which 
require confirmation should be differentiated in respect to the classified service from 
like offices that do not require confirmation. The auditors of the Treasury Depart- 
ment, for example, as I said in my last report, ought on every account to be included 
in the classified service. * * * 

6. Qualifications required. — In respect to the matter of educa- 
tional and other qu aline at ions, the commission has been compelled to 
frame its recommendations in general terms. It can not make any 
specific recommendations as to the qualifications which should be 
required of persons appointed as heads or assistant heads of bureaus, 
whether the appointment to such positions is made as the result of 
the promotion of some one already in the competitive classified 
service or as the result of an examination open both to persons 
already in such service and to persons outside such service. This 
is due to the fact that heads of bureaus do not form a general class 
the qualifications of which should be the same. 

Each head of a bureau is ordinarily the head of a special service 
which is frequently somewhat technical in character. There are for 
most heads of bureaus, therefore, special technical qualifications 
which ought not to be required for the heads of all other bureaus. 

In addition to these special technical qualifications there are cer- 
tain general qualifications which it is desirable that all heads and 
assistant heads of bureaus should possess. All should, for example, 
possess at least a general knowledge of the structure of the Govern- 
ment and of the law so far as it affects the relations of the depart- 
ments and bureaus of the Government one with another, and the 
various processes and methods of action necessary for the carrying 
on of the activities of the Government. Particularly desirable is a 
knowledge of the law relative to the appointment, discipline, and dis- 
missal of subordinate officers and employees and of the law with 
regard to appropriations, expenditures, and accounting. 

Where the special qualifications are those required for some rec- 
ognized profession, or consist in acquaintance with subjects of knowl- 
edge for which regular courses of instructions are given in institutions 



30 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of learning, the diploma of a reputable institution of this character 
may properly be required and received as evidence of these special 
qualifications, or, the qualifications may be evidenced by the passing 
of examinations upon the subjects, the study of which is ordinarily 
required for the respective diplomas. It would probably be desirable 
that resort be had to either of these methods of evidencing such quali- 
fications, in order that persons already in the service who do not 
possess the requisite diplomas may be permitted to show that they 
possess the requisite qualifications. 

Perhaps a word should be said in justification of the recommenda- 
tion that a diploma of a recognized institution of learning may be 
received as evidence of the necessary qualifications. One of the 
necessary defects of any system of examination for evidencing the 
possession of the requisite qualifications is the fact that preparation 
for such examinations is apt to consist of a course of cramming rather 
than a course of study. The persons who prepare themselves for 
such examinations usually are actuated by the desire to pass the 
particular examination before them rather than to acquaint them- 
selves with the subject upon which the examination is to be held. A 
diploma, however, usually stands for a course of training and study 
continued through a term much longer than the ordinary period of cram- 
ming preceding an examination and conduces to the development in the 
student of qualities more valuable than can be evidenced merely by 
an examination. This fact is now being clearly recognized by the 
Government in the examinations which it holds for a number of 
positions of a professional or technical character to which only those 
are admitted who possess the proper diplomas or who adduce evidence 
that they have had the advantage of courses of instruction. 

If such diplomas are made a part or an alternative part of the 
method of evidencing qualifications, it may be pointed out that the 
Government has in its Commissioner of Education a means of deter- 
mining what shall be the institutions of learning whose diplomas shall 
be recognized as qualifying a candidate for appointment. It might 
be easily provided that the diplomas of only those institutions should 
be recognized which have been certified as reputable by the Com- 
missioner of Education. 

In the case of certain heads of bureaus it may not be necessary or 
even advisable to require either diplomas or examinations. Such 
would probably be true of services not distinctly technical, scientific, 
or professional in character. In such cases reliance can be placed 
entirely on promotion from the lower ranks of the Government 
service. 

If examinations are held, it may be pointed out that they may be 
directed, as are certain of the examinations now held, either to ascer- 
taining the experience of the candidate, rather than his knowledge, or 
to determining by a canvass of the qualifications of the applicants, 
where the examination is an open one, who is presumably best fitted 
for the place. 

Thus at the present time the examination for the position of 
superintendent, Lighthouse Service, gives a weight of 50 on the scale 
of 100 to the training and experience of the candidate and only equal 
weight to theoretical and practical questions in civil engineering, 
construction, materials, and surveying. All applicants for the exam- 
ination must have had at least six years' satisfactory experience in 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 31 

civil engineering and construction. Graduation from a reputable 
technical school of engineering is considered as equivalent to three of 
the six years required. 

The main significance of examinations is that the appointing 
officer — the President — is relieved of the necessity of making the 
preliminary investigation of the qualifications of candidates, and, fur- 
thermore, of much, if not all, political pressure. If the ordinary 
methods of the Civil Service Commission are followed this investiga- 
tion will be made by that body, which will report the three standing 
highest on the list, from which three the appointment will be made, in 
case the examination is competitive or that a particular person is 
qualified in case of a pass examination. 

Finally, all heads and assistant heads of bureaus should have the 
ability which is often spoken of as executive or administrative, and 
which may be said to consist of the ability to judge men and by the 
exercise of both tact and firmness to direct the affairs of the office in 
such a way as to secure an economical and efficient administration. 
This qualification, which is perhaps as important as any of the others 
mentioned, can not be evidenced by any system of examinations which 
can be devised. Indeed, the presence of this qualification in a particu- 
lar person can be surmised rather than proved, and the surmise which 
is made must be based upon the record made by the candidate, if he 
has made such a record, or, in case he has made no such record, upon 
the judgment of the appointing officer, who himself must rely in great 
part upon the statements of others. These facts make it necessary 
that the appointing officer should be left large discretion in making 
the appointment, and in many cases cause the ordinary open com- 
petitive examination, usually provided in the case of subordinate 
employees, to be inapplicable as a method of determining the qualifi- 
cations of heads or assistant heads of bureaus. 

5. Other Officers in the Departments at Washington. 

There are a number of positions subordinate to the head of bureaus, 
appointment to which at present results from action by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. These positions 
are often technical in character, have little, if any, political signifi- 
cance, and should be placed in the competitive classified service. 
In other cases these positions are similar to positions occupied by 
the highest grade of clerks. In almost all cases, also, these positions 
are subordinate in character, and may not, therefore, be regarded 
as political offices. There is thus no reason why the Senate should 
exercise an influence over appointment to them, while there are a 
number of reasons why they should be placed in the competitive 
classified service. These are, first, that the necessity of confirmation 
by the Senate tends to obscure their really nonpolitical character, 
and to that extent diminishes administrative efficiency; and, second, 
that their exclusion from the classified service diminishes the incentive 
to good work on the part of persons in the lower ranks of that branch 
of the service to the extent that such persons are denied promotion 
to these positions in the regular course. Such positions should be 
placed in the competitive classified service. This would have as its 
result that they would be filled ordinarily through promotion of per- 
sons in the lower ranks of the service. 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 3 



32 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

6. Local Officers. 

The positions in the executive civil service of the United States, 
appointment to which follows as a result of confirmation by the 
Senate, include, in addition to those of heads of bureaus and of other 
officers at Washington, those occupied by many of the officers of the 
United States at the head of the important local offices of the Govern- 
ment. It is, however, impossible to lay down any general rule as to 
the legal method of appointing this class of officers which is not liable 
to exceptions. This is due to the fact, to which attention has been 
directed, that the method of appointment, which must be followed in 
filling all offices of the United States, where Congress has not provided 
for some other of the methods of appointment mentioned in the Con- 
stitution, is appointment by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate. In some cases, also, Congress has specifically 
provided that local officers shall be appointed in this manner. Such 
is the rule in the case of collectors of the customs, internal-revenue 
collectors, etc. 

Sometimes, moreover, Congress has passed an act providing for 
some method of appointment other than by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a whole class of officers, 
as the fourth-class postmasters; sometimes its action has affected 
some specific officers. Thus section 2536 of the Revised Statutes 
provides that the President shall appoint two surveyors of the customs 
in the district of Champlain in the State of New York. 

Sometimes the method of appointment provided is by the President 
alone, as in the case just mentioned. Sometimes it is the head of an 
executive department to whom the power is granted, as is frequently 
the method in the case of minor officers or employees in particular 
customs districts. 

Sometimes, finally, the exception to the general rule that the ap- 
pointment of the local officers of the United States is to be made by 
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
results from the adoption by Congress of the idea of lump-sum ap- 
propriations. This is often true of the administrative services which 
have been most recently established. A lump-sum appropriation is 
granted for the purpose of enabling an officer, usually the head of a 
department, to perform some general duty imposed upon him by law 
and the Government practice is to regard it as authorizing the officer 
intrusted with the expenditure of the money appropriated to employ 
the persons necessary to enable him to perform the duty imposed. 

The lump-sum appropriation has been adopted very generally in 
the field services of the Department of Agriculture, and is to be found 
as well in some particular field service in other departments, as the 
Reclamation Service or the Geological Survey, in the Interior Depart- 
ment. Indeed, it may, perhaps, be said that Congress has, as the 
result of the adoption of the lump-sum appropriation, abandoned the 
method of appointment by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, and has adopted, in the case of the field services 
most recently established, the method of appointment by the head of 
the department to which the field service belongs. It is true that the 
services, in regard to which the method of appointment by the Presi- 
dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, has been 



REPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 33 

abandoned are, for the most part, services in which considerable tech- 
nical, scientific, or professional knowledge is required, but it is also 
true that in some of the services which have been established for a 
long time and in which technical knowledge is really required, the 
method of appointment by the President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, originally and in accordance with the ideas of 
the time provided, has since been retained for no other reason than 
inertia and a disinclination to make a change. A good example of 
such a service is the Steamboat-Inspection Service. This service is 
recognized by Congress as having a technical character, since the law 
provides for technical qualifications for the supervising inspectors 
who are, however, to be appointed by the President and the Senate. 

It may not thus be said that in the technical services, regardless of 
the date of their establishment, the tendency of Congress is to provide 
for some method of appointment other than by the President and the 
Senate; and indeed it is doubtful if it may be said that technical 
knowledge is really less necessary in some of the older services where 
appointment by the President and the Senate still prevails than in the 
newer services where that method of appointment has been aban- 
doned. Thus in the customs service and the Internal-Revenue Serv- 
ice, where officers in many cases of comparatively low grade are still 
appointed by the President and the Senate, it is extremely desirable, 
from the point of view of economical and efficient administration, that 
the officers in charge shall have a sufficient knowledge of the customs 
and internal-revenue laws and of the administrative methods of the 
Government. Such knowledge can hardly be expected from persons 
who are appointed, as is usually the case with Senate appointments, 
for political reasons, without having given any tangible evidence by 
previous service, or examination of any sort, of the possession of the 
requisite qualifications for the office. 

In the case of these local officers of the Government it is only in 
exceptional cases that it can with propriety be urged that they 
occupy a position which has any political significance in the sense 
that they can by their actions permanently embarrass the adminis- 
tration in the execution of its policies. The field services of the 
Government have become so centralized, by reason of the method 
of appointment, the absolutely unlimited disciplinary powers pos- 
sessed by the heads of the services at Washington and by the Presi- 
dent, the issue of departmental and service regulations from Wash- 
ington, and the power of appeal from the decisions of local officers 
to the heads of the services at Washington, which is so generally 
recognized, that a comparatively small field is left open to the dis- 
cretion of the local administrative officers of the Government. 

The Postmaster General in his report for 1910 (p. 13) says: 

Although recent reforms have greatly increased the efficiency of the postal service, 
it is apparent that the highest degree of effectiveness in the conduct of this tremendous 
business establishment can not be attained while the thousands of postmasters, on 
whose faithfulness so much depends, continue to be political appointees. The entire 
postal service should be taken out of politics. The recent order of the President, 
classifying, on the recommendations of the department, all assistant postmasters 
was an important step in the right direction. As a still more important reform, presi- 
dential postmasters of all grades, from the first class to the third, should be placed 
in the classified service. This action, which is earnestly recommended, would 
unquestionably result in a still better standard of service : The policy the depart- 
ment has followed for several years of reappointing presidential postmasters with 



34 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

exceptionally good records has shown in a striking way the advantage of having our 
post offices managed by experienced officers. The old practice of making frequent 
changes for political purposes has a most demoralizing effect and resulted in unwar- 
ranted expenditure due to poor management. If their positions were included in 
the classified service postmasters could be continued in charge of their offices so long 
as they performed their duties satisfactorily, and whenever vacancies occurred they 
could be rilled by the promotion of subordinate officers, thus insuring a constant 
management by men trained in the postal business. Incidentally, the inclusion 
of postmasterships as a part of the classified postal system would furnish a new in- 
centive for good work on the part of subordinate officers and employees ambitious 
to reach ultimately the rank of postmaster. 

The President lays stress on the same idea in his message of 1910. 
He says: 

I entertain the profound conviction that it would greatly aid the cause of efficient 
and economical government and of better policies if Congress could enact a bill pro- 
viding that the Executive shall have the power to include in the classified service all 
local offices under the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice, the Post 
Office Department, the Interior Department, and the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, appointments to which now require the confirmation of the Senate, and that 
upon such classification the advice and consent of the Senate cease to be required in 
such appointments. By their certainty of tenure dependent upon good service and 
by their freedom from the necessity of political activity these local officers would be 
induced to become more efficient public servants. (President's Message, Dec, 1910, 
p. 77.) 

If such officers are by law to be appointed by the President alone, 
the commission is of the opinion that they should be placed in the 
competitive classified service, and regulations similar to those which 
have been recommended for heads and assistant heads of bureaus 
should prescribe the qualifications which persons desirous of appoint- 
ment should possess. 

7. Fixed Terms. 

Finally, it is to be noted that a fixed term of four or five years is 
given by certain acts of Congress to many of the local officers of the 
Government who are appointed by the President by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. Such laws militate greatly against 
the highest degree of administrative efficiency, for they necessarily 
bring up at the expiration of a term of office the question of reap- 
pointment, and when combined, as they usually are, with confirma- 
tion by the Senate they necessarily make it more difficult than it 
otherwise would be to retain efficient men in the service, since they 
interject politics into questions of appointment, and in no way add 
to the disciplinary power of removal which is in any case complete. 

The Civil Service Commission says in its report for 1910: 

Appointments of all the higher officers in the national civil service outside of Wash- 
ington, such as postmasters of the first, second, and third classes, collectors of 
revenue, appraisers, and marshals, are subject to confirmation by the Senate; their 
appointments are to a greater or less extent determined by political services. They 
often control party nominations and the choice of delegates to nominating conven- 
tions, or they themselves so serve. As has been well said, there is to-day no such 
profession as that of trained postmaster, collector, surveyor, or appraiser. 

During the first 40 years after the organization of our Government administrative 
practice with regard to the civil service seemed to conform to the intention of the 
founders. The Constitution fixed the term of no officer in the executive branch of 
the Government except those of the President and the Vice President. * * * It 
was the established usage during these first 40 years to permit executive officers, 
except members of the Cabinet, to hold office during good behavior, and this practice 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 35 

was changed by the four-year tenure act of 1820. * * * Shortly after the four- 
year tenure act had been passed, Jefferson said of it: 

"The late mischievous law, vacating every four years nearly all the executive 
offices of the Government, saps the Constitution and salutary functions of the Presi- 
dent and introduces a principle of intrigue and corruption which will soon leaven 
the mass not only of Senators, but of citizens." * * * The civil-service act was 
intended to cure in part the evils traceable to the spoils system which grew out of the 
four-year tenure of office act. Our administrative system now presents the anomaly 
of filling certain inferior positions by test of merit and changing every four years the 
higher positions, certain of which the President urges that he be given power to 
classify, such as those of collectors of customs, collectors of internal revenue, and 
postmasters, in which proven capacity and most thorough training are required in 
the interest of good administration. 

These four-year term laws were passed about 1820. Since the 
passage of these statutes it has, however, seldom been the case that 
Congress has provided a fixed term of any length for officers in the 
field services or, indeed, for any of the officers of the Government. It 
is to be regretted that although Congress would seem to have become 
convinced of the undesirability of four-year terms, as is evidenced 
by its general abandonment of the four-year term for the offices 
most recently established, it permits the four-year term to remain 
for those offices for which it was provided by the legislation of the 
first quarter of the last century. 

So long as the four-year term and appointment by the President by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate are retained in com- 
bination for these classes of officers it is almost useless to hope that 
the most important positions in these local services of the Govern- 
ment will ever become permanent in character or that they will be 
filled by really qualified persons. Under present legal conditions 
they will always remain political in character, their incumbents will 
be frequently changed, and great loss both in economy and efficiency 
in administration will result to the Government. It is because of 
the general refusal of Congress to fix the term of the heads of bureaus 
at Washington that a long step has been taken in building up a per- 
manent force in charge of the routine work of the departments. 

The repeal of these four-year term of office acts, in so far as it 
would make possible greater permanency in tenure and greater 
length of term of actual incumbency of office would, in all proba- 
bility, improve the quality of the service by keeping in office persons 
better qualified as a result of practical experience to discharge their 
duties than is at present the case. 



Respectfully submitted. 



F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

W. W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
Harvey S. Chase. 
M. O. Chance, 

Secretary. 



36 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 



Exhibit 1. 

Consular Service — Regulations Governing Appointments and 

Promotions. 

Whereas the Congress, by section 1753 of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, has provided as follows: 

The President is authorized to prescribe such regulations for the admission of 
persons into the civil service of the United States as may best promote the efficiency 
thereof, and ascertain the fitness of each candidate in respect to age, health, char- 
acter, knowledge, and ability for the branch of service into which he seeks to enter; 
and for this purpose he may employ suitable persons to conduct such inquiries, 
and may prescribe their duties, and establish regulations for the conduct of persons 
who may receive appointments in the civil service. 

And whereas the Congress has classified and graded the consuls gen- 
eral and consuls of the United States by the act entitled "An act 
to provide for the reorganization of the Consular Service of the 
United States, " approved April 5, 1906, and has thereby made it 
practicable to extend to that branch of the civil service the afore- 
said provisions of the Revised Statutes and the principles embodied 
in the civil-service act of January 16, 1883: 

Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him 
by the Constitution and laws of the United States, the President 
makes the following regulations to govern the selection of consuls 
general and consuls in the civil service of the United States, subject 
always to the advice and consent of the Senate: 

1. Vacancies in the office of consul general and in the office of con- 
suls above class 8 shall be filled by promotion from the lower grades 
of the Consular Service, based upon ability and efficiency as shown 
in the service. 

2. Vacancies in the office of consul of class 8 and of consul of class 
9 shall be filled: 

(a) By promotion on the basis of ability and efficiency as shown 
in the service of consular clerks and of vice consuls, deputy consuls, 
and consular agents who shall have been appointed to such offices 
upon examination. 

(b) By new appointments of candidates who have passed a satis- 
factory examination for appointment as consul as hereafter provided. 

3. Persons in the service of the Department of State with salaries 
of $2,000 or upward shall be eligible for promotion, on the basis of 
ability and efficiency as shown in the service, to any grade of the 
Consular Service above class 8 of consuls. 

4. The Secretary of State, or such officer of the Department of 
State as the President shall designate, the Chief of the Consular 
Bureau, and the chief examiner of the Civil Service Commission, or 
some person whom said commission shall designate, shall constitute 
a board of examiners for admission to the Consular Service. 

5. It shall be the duty of the board of examiners to formulate rules 
for and hold examinations of applicants for admission to the Consular 
Service. 

6. The scope and method of the examinations shall be determined 
by the board of examiners, but among the subjects shall be included 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 37 

at least one modern language other than English; the natural, indus- 
trial, arid commercial resources and the commerce of the United 
States, especially with reference to the possibilities of increasing 
and extending the trade of the United States with foreign countries; 
political economy; elements of international, commercial, and mari- 
time law. 

7. Examination papers shall be rated on a scale of 100, and no 
person rated at less than 80 shall be eligible for certification. 

8. No one shall be examined who is under 21 or over 50 years of 
age, or who is not a citizen of the United States, or who is not of good 
character and habits and physically and mentally qualified for the 
proper performance of consular work, or who has not been specially 
designated by the President for appointment to the Consular Service, 
subject to examination. 

9. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the eighth or ninth class of 
consuls which the President may deem it expedient to fill, the Secre- 
tary of State shall inform the board of examiners, who shall certify 
to him the list of those persons eligible for appointment, accompanying 
the certificate with a detailed report showing the qualifications, as 
revealed by examination, of the persons so certified. If it be desired 
to fill a vacancy in a consulate in a country in which the United 
States exercises extraterritorial jurisdiction, the Secretary of State 
shall so inform the board of examiners, who shall include in the list 
of names certified by it only such persons as have passed an examina- 
tion provided for in this order, and who also have passed an exami- 
nation in the fundamental principles of the common law, the rules of • 
evidence, and the trial of civil and criminal cases. T he lis t of names II 
which the board of examiners shall certify shall be sent to the Presi- 
dent for his information. 

10. No promotion shall be made except for efficiency, as shown 
by the work that the officer has accomplished, the ability, prompt- 
ness, and diligence displayed by him in the performance of his official 
duties, his conduct, and his fitness for the Consular Service. 

11. It shall be the duty of the board of examiners to formulate 
rules for and hold examinations of persons designated for appoint- 
ment as consular clerk, and of such persons designated for appoint- 
ment as vice consul, deputy consul, and consular agent, as shall 
desire to become eligible for promotion. The scope and method of 
such examination shall be determined bj the board of examiners, 
but it shall include the same subjects hereinbefore prescribed for the 
examination of consuls. Any vice consul, deputy consul, or consular 
agent now in the service, upon passing such an examination, shall 
become eligible for promotion as if appointed upon such examination. 

12. In designations for appointment subject to examination and 
in appointments after examination, due regard will be had to the rule 
that as between candidates of equal merit appointments should be 
so made as to secure p roportional repr e sentation of all the Stat es 
and Territories in the Consular Service ; and neither in the designation 
for examination or certification or appointment will the political 
affiliations of the candidate be considered. 

Theodore Roosevelt. 
The White House, June 27 , 1906. 



38 reports of the commission on economy and efficiency. 

Exhibit 2. 

Extract from Regulations Governing the Public Health and 
Marine-Hospital Service. 

article ii. examinations, appointments, and promotions of 

commissioned officers. 

17. Medical ofiicers of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital 
Service, required by law to be appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be known in these 
regulations as commissioned ofiicers. 

18. Graduates of medicine desirous of undergoing examination for 
the position of assistant surgeon in the Public Health and Marine- 
Hospital Service of the United States must make an application, 
addressed to the Surgeon General, in their own handwriting, request- 
ing permission to appear before the board of examiners. Applicants 
for examination should state their age, date and place oi birth, 
present legal residence, and whether they are citizens of the United 
States, and name of medical school and college of which they are 
graduates, and furnish testimonials from at least two persons £.s to 
their professional and moral character. Applicants of foreign birth 
must furnish proof of American citizenship. 

19. Any applicant for appointment who shall submit false testi- 
monials as to his character, or who shall give a false certificate of age, 
or make any false statement in his application, or to the board of 
examiners, shall be disqualified for appointment, or, if appointed 
before such false statement is discovered, shall be dismissed from the 
service. 

20. No applicant will be eligible to appear before a board of exam- 
iners whose age is less than 22 or more than 30 years, and, as a pre- 
liminary to a recommendation by the Surgeon General for appoint- 
ment as assistant surgeon, the applicant must have been graduated in 
medicine at some respectable medical college, and must have passed a 
satisfactory physical, academic, and professional examination before a 
board of commissioned ofiicers. The applicant must submit his 
diploma or a certified copy thereof to the board. 

21. Commissioned ofiicers will not be appointed to any particular 
station, but to the general service. They will be subject to change of 
station as the exigencies of the service may require, and shall serve in 
any part of the United States or wherever assigned to duty. 

22. A board of commissioned o ulcers will be convened from time to 
time by the Surgeon General for the purpose of examining applicants 
for appointment. This board shall consist of three or more commis- 
sioned o ulcers, of whom the senior shall be chairman and the junior 
recorder of the board. 

23. The board of examiners will make a true report on the merit 
roll of the actual and relative standing of applicants and transmit the 
examination papers, with their recommendations in each case, to the 
Surgeon General. The Surgeon General will submit the report of the 
board to the Secretary of the Treasury for his approval, and furnish 
a copy of the merit roll for the files of the department. The maxi- 
mum mark in any one branch of the examination shall be 100, and no 
applicant will be" recommended for appointment who fails to receive 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 39 

an average grade of 80 in the ratings on the topics named in para- 
graphs 26, 28, and 29. 

24. All academic and professional examinations for appointment 
shall be conducted by said board of medical officers, and the order of 
examinations shall be — 

1. Physical. 

2. Academic. 

3. Professional. 

4. Clinical: 

5. Personal (including general aptitude and moral fitness). 

25. The physical examination will be made according to the rules 
elsewhere given. The examiners must pay special attention to con- 
ditions that may impair efficiency or cause early placing on "waiting 
orders." such as hereditary diseases, overstrain of nervous system, 
impaired vitality from excesses of any kind. Applicants should be 
required to give explicit statement of any severe illness or injury, and 
of the cause of death of near relatives, and certify that they believe 
themselves free from any ailment, mental and physical, or defect which 
would disqualify them for active service in any climate. 

26. The board will examine the applicant orally as to his pro- 
ficiency in general literature, language, history, and geography (of 
the United States in particular), and such branches of general science 
as they may in their discretion think pertinent. 

27. The written examinations of applicants for appointment will 
begin with a short autobiography of applicant, in which he will con- 
cisely state: Whether married or single: the date and place of his 
birth: the school, institution, or college at which he received his gen- 
eral education: the several branches studied, including his knowledge 
of general literature and of the ancient and modern languages: the 
exact title of the medical school or schools at which he received 
instruction and the date of his graduation: the name and place of 
residence of his preceptor and the time when he commenced the 
study of medicine: also the titles of the textbooks studied on chem- 
istry, anatomy, physiology, histology, materia medica, pharmacy, 
therapeutics, theory and practice of medicine, principles and practice 
of surgery, medical jurisprudence, toxicology, obstetrics, hyo-iene, 
biology, pathology, bacteriology, and physics: the opportunities he 
has had of engaging in the practice of medicine, surgery, and obstet- 
rics or of receiving clinical instruction: and whether he has been a 
resident physician or interne in a civil or military hospital: and the 
number of cadavers or parts of cadavers he has dissected while at 
college or elsewhere. The candidate will append to this statement 
his name in full, post-office address, and his local address at the date 
of the examination. 

28. The remainder of the written examination of applicants for 
appointment will consist of questions on (1) anatomy. (2) physiology. 
(3) chemistry. (4) materia medica and therapeutics, (5) practice of 
medicine, (6) practice of surgery, (7) obstetrics and diseases of 
women, (S) hygiene, (9) pathology and bacteriology. (10) reports on 
selected cases at a hospital. These cases will be selected by the ex- 
aminers so as to give at least two (one medical and one surgical case) 
to each applicant. 

29. This examination will further consist of such inquiries as may 
tend to develop the general aptitude of the person for the special 



40 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

duties required of a commissioned officer in the service and to show 
his moral qualifications for the position of trust and responsibility 
which he will assume when appointed. 

30. Whenever possible, applicants for appointment will be required 
to perform such surgical operations on the cadaver as may be directed 
by the examiners. 

31. The passing; of an examination will not be considered as giving 
assurance of appointment, as ; in case there should be more successful 
candidates than vacancies, the Surgeon General will select for recom- 
mendation for appointment those of the highest attainments, as shown 
by their relative standing on the roll reported by the board of 
examiners. 

32. No qualified applicant will be eligible for appointment more 
than one year. If not appointed within that time, he may be 
reexamined, unless he has passed' the limit of age provided in para- 
graph 20, when, if successful, he will take position with class last 
examined. 

33. An applicant for appointment failing at one examination may 
be allowed a second examination after one year if he has not passed 
the limit of age as provided in paragraph 20, but he shall not be 
allowed a third examination. 

34. When an applicant for appointment is found to be deficient 
to a marked degree in his preliminary education, or has shown by his 
papers on the four branches — anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and 
materia medica — during the progress of his examination that he is 
deficient to such an extent that it would be impossible for him to 
reach the required general average in all branches, the board of 
examiners may, in its discretion, reject this applicant without further 
examination. 

35. Before the applicant has demonstrated his inability to pass the 
examination the board, in its discretion, may accord the applicant 
privilege to withdraw, but in this event the applicant shall not be 
eligible for another examination for a period of one year. 

EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES FOR PROMOTION. 

36. A board of commissioned officers will be convened from time 
to time by the Surgeon General for the purpose of examining candi- 
dates for promotion. This board shall consist of three commissioned 
officers superior in rank to the candidate for promotion, of whom the 
senior shall be chairman and the junior recorder of the board. The 
board will make a true report on the merit roll of the actual and 
relative standing of the candidates for promotion and transmit the 
examination papers with the recommendations to the Surgeon 
General, who will submit the report to the Secretary for his approval 
and furnish a copy of the merit roll for the files of the department. 

37. Examinations for promotion will be made chiefly in writing, 
but ma} T be supplemented, in the discretion of the examiners, by an 
oral examination on any subject connected with the official and 
professional duties of the officer. Candidates for promotion, of what- 
ever rank, must show themselves proficient in all the regulations 
governing the service. The examiners will also examine carefully the 
record of the service of the officers as furnished from the bureau, and 
shall give due consideration thereto in making their recommenda- 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 41 

tions. No officer will be recommended for promotion who shall be 
found physically disqualified. 

38. Previous to the examination of an officer for promotion the 
Surgeon General will furnish to the board of officers examining said 
candidate a complete record of his service from the files of the bureau. 

39. Board of examiners, in making recommendations and in de- 
ciding on the relative merit and fitness of several passed assistant 
or assistant surgeons examined for promotion at any time, will be 
governed by seniority, unless there are specific reasons for waiving it. 

40. When an officer fails to pass the physical examination required 
for promotion, the board of examiners shall report in detail the 
physical condition of said candidate; and if it shall appear that his 
condition is the result of irregular or dissipated habits, the case shall 
be reported as requiring investigation by a board convened in 
accordance with paragraph 268. If it is the result of disease or 
disability contracted in the line of duty, he shall be recommended for 
"waiting orders" or special duty of a light character. 

41. When an officer has been rejected on account of physical dis- 
ability and is placed on waiting orders or special duty, and it shall 
subsequently appear by competent medical evidence that he has 
progressed to recovery, the Surgeon General may order him to 
present himself before a board of officers for reexamination, and if 
found to be physically qualified for promotion the examination 
provided for his grade shall be continued by said board, and if he 
passes same he shall be entitled to promotion to the first vacancy 
occurring in the next grade. 

42. Assistant surgeons, at the expiration of five years' service, shall 
be entitled to an examination for promotion to the grade of passed 
assistant surgeon, as hereinafter specified, and they will be ordered 
to appear before a board of commissioned officers for this purpose. 
Failing to pass the first examination, they shall be allowed a second 
examination, but not until after the expiration of one year, and 
shall be ordered to appear for said examination as soon after the 
expiration of the year as practicable. 

43. Assistant surgeons shall, 30 days prior to the expiration of 
their five years' service, make application for examination for 
promotion. 

44. An assistant surgeon, in order to be recommended for promo- 
tion, must obtain an average mark of 80 per cent, and not less than 
70, in any of the following branches: (1) Anatomy; (2) physiology: 
(3) chemistry; (4) materia medica and therapeutics; (5) practice of 
medicine; (6) practice of surgery: (7) obstetrics and diseases of 
women; (8) hygiene; (9) pathology and bacteriology. The examina- 
tion will be in writing, and the candidate must satisfy the board that 
he has been diligent in keeping himself informed of the progress and 
improvements in the practice of his profession since his appointment 
into the service, and in addition to the above he must pass a physical 
examination. 

45. When an assistant surgeon fails in one examination for promo- 
tion, he shall be allowed a second examination at the expiration of a 
year, but, again failing, he will not be allowed a third examination, 
and will be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury as not qualified 
for promotion. 



42 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

46. An assistant surgeon reported as above (par. 45) shall be re- 
quested by the Secretary of the Treasury to tender his resignation. 

47. A vacancy in the grade of surgeon will be rilled by promotion 
from among the passed assistant surgeons, who shall be eligible to 
promotion to the grade of surgeon in the order of seniority, but such 
officer will not be promoted until he shall have passed a satisfactory 
professional examination in writing in the practice of medicine, 
surgery, hygiene, hospital and quarantine management, and regula- 
tions of the service, in addition to a physical examination. He shall 
be required to make an average marking of 80 per cent on the above- 
mentioned subjects. A passed assistant surgeon who is eligible for 
promotion to the grade of surgeon shall be ordered to appear before 
a board of commissioned officers for that purpose. Failing to pass 
this first examination, he shall be allowed to take a second examina- 
tion after the expiration of one year, and shall be ordered to appear 
for said examination as soon thereafter as practicable, and if success- 
ful shall be eligible for appointment to the next ensuing vacancy in 
the grade of surgeon. 

48. When a passed assistant surgeon fails in his first examination 
for promotion to the grade of surgeon, the next ranking officer shall 
be ordered to examination, and if successful shall be promoted to the 
existing vacancy. 

49. When a passed assistant surgeon fails in one examination for 
promotion he shall be allowed a second examination at the expira- 
tion of one year, but again failing, he will not be allowed a third 
examination, and will be reported to the Secretary of the Treasury as 
not qualified for promotion. When thus reported he shall be placed 
in the official register of the service as u not in the line of promotion.' 7 

50. When an officer reports himself or is reported unfit to perform 
his official duties by reason of disease, injury, or age, he shall be 
ordered by the Surgeon General, if in his opinion it is necessary, to 
appear before a board of commissioned officers, who shall thoroughly 
examine him, and if it shall appear that the disability is the result 
of irregular or dissipated habits, the case shall be reported as requiring 
investigation by a board convened in accordance with paragraph 268. 
If it be the result of disability in the line of duty, the board shall 
recommend him for u waiting orders" or for special duty of a light 
character. 

51. A board convened for the physical examination of an officer of 
the service shall consist of two or more commissioned officers. 



APPENDIX No. 2 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES, DEPARTMENT 

OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, AND LIFE-SAVING 

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE 

TREASURY 



48 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

1. Introduction 45 

2 . General description of the two services 46 

3 . Life-Saving Service 46 

1. History 46 

2 . Relation of service to Revenue-Cutter Service 46 

3. Organization 47 

1. General administration 47 

2. Construction and repair of life-saving stations 48 

3. Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc 48 

4. Superintendence of construction and maintenance of telephone 

lines : 48 

5. Inspection and storehouse 48 

6. Board of life-saving appliances 49 

7. Districts 49 

8. Life-saving stations and houses of refuge 50 

4. Lighthouse Service 50 

1. History 50 

2 . Organization 51 

1 . General administration 52 

2 . Engineering Construction Division 52 

3. Marine Engineering Division 52 

4. Hydrographic Division 52 

5. Districts 52 

6. Depots 53 

7. Light stations and other aids to navigation 54 

5. Administration of the two services by one bureau 54 

1. Similarity of the two services 54 

2. General administration 56 

3. Construction and repair work 59 

4. Provision of equipment 60 

5. Maintenance of depots 61 

6. Distribution of supplies 63 

7. Field administration and inspection 63 

Recapitulation and general conclusions 65 

EXHIBITS. 

1 A. Report of the Joint Committee on the Life-Saving Service and the Bureau of 

Lighthouses, 1911 66 

2A. Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest light- 
house _ 78 

3A. History, organization, and activities of the Life-Saving Service 84 

4A. History, organization, and activities of the Bureau of Lighthouses 137 

44 



CONSOLIDATION OF BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES, DEPARTMENT 
OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, AND LIFE-SAVING SERVICE, 
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. 



December 27, 1911. 
The President : 

The Commission on Economy and Efficiency has the honor to sub- 
mit the following report in reference to the Lighthouse Service, of the 
Department of Commerce and Labor, and the Life-Saving Service, of 
the Department of the Treasury. 

The commission recommends that legislation be obtained to author- 
ize the transfer of the Life-Saving Service from the Department of the 
Treasury to the Department of Commerce and Labor and the placing 
of this service and the Lighthouse Service under one bureau. 

The commission is of the opinion that if this transfer and the placing 
of the two services under the administration of a single bureau is 
effected it will result in a saving of at least $100,000 the first year and 
of a much larger sum in subsequent years, after the work of reorgani- 
zation has been completely effected. The union of the two services 
under one bureau will not impair in any way the efficiency of either 
service. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In exhibits attached to this report the attempt is made to give a 
full statement of the essential facts regarding the history, organization, 
activities, laws, and regulations governing, and the appropriation for 
and expenditures of each of these services. In another exhibit are 
given copies of the majority and minority reports of a joint committee 
which, at the request of the commission, made an investigation of these 
two services and reported to the commission on October 24, 1911. 
This committee was composed of three members, one selected by the 
commission and one each by the Secretaries of the two departments — 
Treasury and Commerce and Labor — in which the two services under 
investigation are located. The representatives of the commission and 
of the Department of Commerce and Labor, by whom the majority 
report recommending that the two services be administered by a single 
bureau under the Department of Commerce and Labor was signed, 
were not connected in any way with the services under inquiry. The 
representative of the Department of the Treasury, by whom the 
minority report was signed, is the Assistant General Superintendent 
of the Life-Saving Service. Though the committee profited by the 
intimate knowledge that this representative had of the Life-Saving 
Service, his official connection with that service should be borne in 
mind in taking into consideration his dissent from the finding of the 
majority report. 

45 



46 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TAVO SERVICES. 

As the facts regarding each of the services under consideration are 
given in detail in the exhibits, it is only necessary to refer to 
certain of their more important features in this place. 

Life-Saving Service. 

history. 

While the work of saving the lives of those endangered as the result 
of Avrecks of vessels received some attention prior to 1871, and several 
appropriations were made, such as that of $5,000 in 1847 "for fur- 
nishing the lighthouses of the Atlantic coast with means of rendering 
assistance to shipwrecked mariners," it was not until the year 1871 
that provision was made by law (sees. 4242 to 4249 of the Revised 
Statutes) for the erection and equipment of stations, the furnishing 
of apparatus for use at wrecks, the appointment of keepers and crews 
at stations, etc. The expenditure of the money appropriated was 
intrusted to the Treasury Department, but no provision was made 
for a distinct service. The necessity for such a service, however, 
soon became apparent. Congress, accordingly, by act of June 18, 
1878, provided for the creation of a separate service in the Treasury 
Department, to be presided over by a general superintendent. This 
act constitutes the organic act of the Life-Saving Service, and, with 
but slight modifications, is in force to-day. 

RELATION OF SERVICE TO REVENUE-CUTTER SERVICE. 

The system thus established possesses the peculiar feature that, 
though constituting a distinct service, use is made to a large extent 
of officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service for the direction or per- 
formance of much of its work. This is in virtue of the following 
provisions of law : 

The act of March 3, 1873, provided that — 

All life-saving stations hereafter erected shall be erected under the supervision of 
two captains of the Revenue Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury 
and to be under his direction (R. S., 4249). 

The law of June 18, 1878, establishing the Life-Saving Service on 
its present basis, provided that — 

The Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or officers of the Revenue 
Marine Service as may be necessary to act as inspector and assistant inspectors of 
stations, who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service 
as may be required of them by the General Superintendent. (Act of June 18, 1878; 
chap. 265, 20 Stat, L., 164.) 

Later, provision was made by the legislative, executive, and judi- 
cial appropriation act of February 26, 1889, that — 

Hereafter nothing in section * * * shall be construed to prevent the Secretary 
of the Treasury from detailing not exceeding two officers of the Revenue-Marine 
Service for duty in the office of the Life-Saving Service. (Chap. 279, 25 Stat. L., 719.) 

These three provisions of law are still in force, and under them 
officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service are performing the duties 
above enumerated for the Life-Saving Service. One captain and 
nine other officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service are filling the posi- 
tions of inspector and assistant inspectors of life-saving stations, two 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 47 

captains are filling the positions of superintendents of construction 
and repair of life-saving stations, and one captain is filling the posi- 
tion of superintendent of construction of lifeboats and apparatus. 
Though while on this detail they are engaged exclusively upon work 
for the Life-Saving Service, they are carried on the rolls of, and are 
paid their salaries from appropriations for, the Revenue-Cutter 
Service. _ Ng| 

This rather anomalous condition of affairs is accounted for by the 
fact that the creation and development of the service were due largely 
to the efforts of one man, Sumner I. Kimball, who at the time of the 
establishment of the service was head of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 
When the Life-Saving Service was formally established, he became 
its head and has personally directed its affairs to the present time. 

ORGANIZATION. 

It will be seen from the outline of organization and description of 
the service given in the exhibit that for the administration of its 
affairs the service is organized in what may be called seven major 
subdivisions : 

1. An office of general administration at Washington. 

2. A service in the field to have charge of the construction and 
repair of life-saving stations, consisting of two offices, one at New 
York, N. Y., and the other at Portland, Oreg. 

3. A service for the superintendence of the construction of life- 
boats, apparatus, etc., at New York, N. Y. 

4. A service for the superintendence of the construction and main- 
tenance of telephone lines, with headquarters at Newark, N. J. 

5. A storehouse and a service for the inspection of life-saving sta- 
tions, at New York, N. Y. 

6. A board for the investigation of life-saving appliances, that 
usually meets once a year at Boston, Mass. 

7. A field service proper, consisting of 13 district offices, 270 life- 
saving stations, and 8 houses of refuge. 

General administration.— -The office of general administration em- 
braces the general superintendent, assistant general superintendent, 
principal or chief clerk, and a personnel of 29 other officers and em- 
ployees, the total of whose compensation according to the pay roll 
amounts to $48,120. Among the subdivisions of this office are: 

1. A legal division in charge of a " title and contract clerk" with a 
compensation of $2,000 annually, assisted by a clerk with a compen- 
sation of $1,200 annually, in which contracts for the purchase and 
lease of sites for life-saving stations are prepared and other legal work 
done. 

2. A division of construction and repair of life-saving stations in 
charge of a civil engineer with a compensation of $1,800 annually, 
assisted by a topographer and hydrographer with a compensation of 
$1,800 annually, and a draftsman with a compensation of $1,500 
annually, in which is oerformed the work of surveying the sites for and 
preparing plans, specifications, and estimates for life-saving stations 
and other structures the creation of which has been decided upon. 

Other sections have to do with bookkeeping and accounts, authori- 
zations for expenditures, files and correspondence, and the compila- 
tion of statistics regarding marine disasters. 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 4 



48 BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Construction and repair of life-saving stations. — The service in charge 
of the construction and repair of life-saving stations consists of two 
offices, as has been stated, one at New York, N. Y., and the other at 
Portland, Oreg. Each of these offices is in charge of a captain of the 
United States Revenue-Cutter Service, whose salary is paid from the 
appropriations for the Revenue-Cutter Service. The New York office 
has as personnel 12 assistant superintendents, at compensations vary- 
ing from $1,500 to $2,000 annually, and a clerk with a compensation 
of $1,400 annually. The Portland office has two assistant super- 
intendents, one with a compensation of $2,000 and the other with a 
compensation of $1,500 annually. The two offices together thus have 
a personnel of 17, the aggregate of whose annual salaries, according 
to the pay roll, exclusive of the salaries of the two officers of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service, is $27,800. 

These two offices, working in conjunction with the division of con- 
struction and repair of life-saving stations in the central office at 
Washington, have charge of the work of constructing and repairing 
life-saving stations. Most of the assistant superintendents listed are 
engaged in the field in the personal supervision of structures in process 
of erection or repair. 

Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc. — The 
service for the construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc., is located at 
New York, being housed in the customhouse for that city. It is 
presided over by a captain of the United States Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice, whose salary is paid from the appropriations for that service. 
He has an assistant, with a salary of $2,200; a clerk, with a salary of 
$1,200; and a repairman, with a salary of $1,200 per annum. The 
service thus has a personnel of four, the total of whose annual salaries, 
exclusive of the salary of the officer of the Revenue-Cutter Service, is 
$4,620. This service has charge of the construction and repair of 

Eower lifeboats and surf boats and certain other equipment. Power 
feboats are built under contract at Bayonne, N. J., and power surf- 
boats under contract at Greenport, Long Island, the former under the 
direct supervision of the captain of the Revenue-Cutter Service and the 
latter under the direct supervision of the assistant superintendent. 

Superintendence of construction and maintenance of telephone lines. — 
The Life-Saving Service maintains telephonic communication between 
many of its stations. These lines make it easy to concentrate the 
crews of two or more stations at any point where additional force is 
required. This service is under the supervision of a superintendent 
of telephone lines, with headquarters at Newark, N. J. He receives a 
compensation of $2,000 per annum and is assisted by nine linesmen, 
receiving a salary of $1,200 per annum. The aggregate of annual 
salaries for this service is $12,800. 

Inspection and storehouse. — The operation of a general storehouse 
for the service and the conduct of the work of field inspection are 
intrusted to the same subdivision of the service. A 5-story and base- 
ment fireproof building, located at 379, 381, and 383 Washington 
Street, New York, N. Y ., is leased by the Life-Saving Service as head- 
quarters for this work at an annual rental of $8,000. 1 Pursuant to 
the provisions of the act of June 18, 1878, already cited, the duties of 
the head of this service, known as inspector of life-saving stations, 

1 The office of the superintendent of construction of life-saving stations is also located in this building. 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 49 

are discharged by a captain of the United States Revenue-Cutter 
Service. He is assisted by nine other officers of this service who are 
known as, and perform the duties of, assistant inspectors. The sala- 
ries of all are paid from appropriations for the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

A chief clerk, with a salary of $2,000 per annum, is in immediate 
charge of the storehouse. He is assisted by 10 other employees, 
performing the duties of clerks, laborers, handlers, and packers, 
watchmen, etc. The personnel of this division, including both the 
inspection and the storehouse branches, thus numbers 21, and the 
aggregate of their compensation, exclusive of the salaries of the 
officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service, is $ 13,440. 

It should be noted that two other storehouses, one located at 
Grand Haven, Mich., and the other at San Francisco, are main- 
tained. Each of these storehouses is in charge of a shipping clerk, 
the one stationed at Grand Haven receiving a salary of $1,500 and 
the one at San Francisco $1,200 per annum. 

The inspector in charge makes no inspections personally, the field- 
inspection work being done by the nine assistant inspectors, who are 
Eermanently assigned to duty in particular districts, with their 
eadquarters at the headquarters of the districts. Though the 
reports from the assistant inspectors pass through his office to that 
of the general superintendent at Washington, his direction and super- 
vision of the field-inspection work is seemingly but nominal. 

Board of life-saving appliances. — The organic act of 1878 provides 
that one of the functions of the general superintendent shall be to 
cause to be investigated all plans and inventions for the improve- 
ment of life-saving apparatus, for use at the stations, which may 
appear to be meritorious and available. Pursuant to this authority 
the Secretary of the Treasury, by departmental letter of January 3, 
1882, constituted a board of life-saving appliances. This board is 
composed of seven persons designated and appointed by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury from members of the Life-Saving Service and 
other branches of the Government on account of their qualifications 
for the duties they are to perform. It is the duty of this board to 
examine and, if necessary, to test such plans, devices, and inventions 
as the general superintendent may submit to it, and by their reports 
to aid and advise the general superintendent in the selection of 
devices and appliances to be used in the service. The board usually 
meets once a year at Boston, Mass., for this purpose. 

Districts. — For the direct administration of the work in the field, 
the country is divided into 13 districts. The number and boundaries 
of these districts are fixed by law. In charge of each district is a 
district superintendent, who is appointed by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, after competitive examination, from among the keepers 
of the stations. Ten of the superintendents receive salaries of 
$2,200, two $2,000, and one $1,900 annually. All, with the excep- 
tion of the superintendent of the eighth district, have a clerk with 
a salary of $900 per annum. The 13 district officers thus have a total 
personnel of 25 and an annual pay roll of $38,700. 

These district superintendents are disbursing officers and pay- 
masters for their respective districts, and as such give bonds. They 
are also ex officio inspectors of customs. They conduct the general 
business of their districts, make requisitions for station supplies, 
repairs, etc., and upon receipt of authority see that the supplies are 



50 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

furnished. They are required to visit the stations at least once a 
quarter and to acquaint themselves with station conditions. On 
these occasions they pay off the crews and make other disbursements 
as authorized. As inspectors of customs they look after the interests 
of the Government in reference to dutiable property wrecked within 
their jurisdiction and see that the keepers perform their duties in ref- 
erence thereto. This duty is merely incidental to their other work 
and is of relatively little importance. 

Life-saving stations and houses of refuge. — The actual work of saving 
life and property is performed by the life-saving stations and houses 
of refuge. Of these there are 270 of the former and 8 of the latter. 
Each life-saving station is in charge of a "keeper," who has the assist- 
ance of a "No. 1 surf man" and from 5 to 7 "surfmen." Each house 
of refuge is in charge of a "keeper," who has no crew. In addition 
to this regular personnel there are one "engineer" and one "helper" 
at the City Point (Mass.) Station (a floating station), in the second 
district; a supply boat, with a "pilot," in the fourth district; a sup- 
ply boat, with a "pilot" and an "engineer/ 7 in the sixth district; 
and a supply boat, with a "pilot," an "assistant pilot," and a "deck 
hand," in the seventh district. 

The keepers are usually selected on the joint recommendation of 
the assistant inspector and the district superintendent for their 
special fitness for the position, as evidenced by their character, skill, 
and physique. Only surf men are eligible for appointment. The 
surfmen are selected from registers of eligible men furnished by the 
Civil Service Commission. The keepers are required to reside con- 
stantly at their stations, are intrusted with the care and custody of 
the station property, for which they are accountable, and govern the 
station premises. They are captains of their crews and exercise 
absolute control over them. They are also ex officio inspectors of 
customs and are required to guard all wrecked property until turned 
over to the owner or otherwise properly disposed of. 

The salary of a keeper is $1,000 per annum and that of a keeper of 
a house of refuge $600 per annum. The No. 1 surfmen receive $70 
per month and the other surfmen $65 per month while actually 
employed. Each keeper and surf man receives commutation of 
rations at 30 cents per day. In the 270 stations and 8 houses of 
refuge there are employed 290 keepers, with an aggregate annual 
compensation of $276,800; 268 No. 1 surfmen, with an aggregate 
annual compensation of $225,120; 1,613 surfmen, with an aggregate 
annual compensation of $1,204,740; and 9 pilots, engineers, etc., 
with an annual compensation of $7,260 — a total of $1,713,920. 

In the entire service, including both the bureau proper at Wash- 
ington and all offices and stations in the field, there are employed, 
including officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service, 2,351 persons, the 
total of whose compensation, not including that of the Revenue- 
Cutter officers, is $1,854,840. 

Lighthouse Service. 

history. 

The maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to navigation has 
been a work carried on since the origin of the Federal Government. 
The service covers the coasts of the United States on the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes, as well 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 51 

as the Mississippi River and its tributaries. It also carries on its 
operations in Alaska, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and at the naval station 
in Cuba. Its activities do not extend to the Philippines, which have 
their own service. 

Prior to the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor, 
in 1903, the Lighthouse Service was under the Treasury Department. 
During the earlier years it was not organized as a distinct service, 
lighthouse matters being attended to at different times by various 
officials of the department. In 1852, as the result of an investiga- 
tion by two naval officers of foreign practice regarding the admin- 
istration of lighthouses, there was created a Lighthouse Board to 
have direction of the service. This board was composed of the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury (as president), two Army officers, two Navy 
officers, and two civilians of high scientific attainments, together with 
an officer of the Navy and an officer of Engineers of the Army as 
secretaries. Upon the creation of the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, in 1903, the service was transferred to it without change except 
that the Secretary of that department fell heir to the duties and 
powers of the Secretary of the Treasury in relation to the service. 

Two characteristics of the board system thus created should be 
noted: First, the vesting of authority in a board instead of a single- 
headed bureau, as is the prevailing practice in providing for the ad- 
ministration of the services of the Government; and, second, the large 
use made of Army and Navy officers, both as members of the board 
and as directors or supervisors of work in the field. In respect to both 
of these features the system worked badly in practice. Congress ac- 
cordingly, by act of June 17, 1910, provided for an entire reorganiza- 
tion of the service. The Lighthouse Board was abolished and in its 
place was created a Bureau of Lighthouses, with a Commissioner of 
Lighthouses at its head. Provision was made at the same time for the 
substitution of civilians in place of officers of the Army and Navy as 
inspectors of the 19 districts into which the country is divided for 
purposes of field supervision. In order that the transition might not 
be too abrupt, the law, however, provides that the President may 
continue for three years to detail Army and Navy officers to fill these 
positions. At the present time 15 of the 19 positions of district in- 
spectors are filled by such officers. 

ORGANIZATION. 

As in the case of the Life-Saving Service, the primary division of 
organization for the operation of this service is that between the 
bureau proper at Washington and the field service or Lighthouse 
Establishment. Following are shown the major subdivisions of each 
of these branches. 

I. Bureau proper at Washington. 

1. General administration. 

2. Engineering construction division. 

3. Marine engineering division. 

4. Hydrographic division. 

II. Field service or Lighthouse Establishment. 

1. District offices. 

2. Supply depots. 

3. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

4. Light stations and other aids. 

5. Reservations. 



52 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

General administration. — Under the heading of u General adminis- 
tration" are grouped the Commissioner of Lighthouses, the deputy 
commissioner, chief clerk, and the division of accounts, with their 
necessary clerical assistants; in other words, those officers and 
employees have to do with general direction and control, rather 
than with the performance of duties of a specific technical character. 
In the office of chief clerk and in the division of accounts are handled 
the financial matters of the service, such as making contracts, pur- 
chasing supplies, keeping of accounts, requisitioning for funds, etc. 

Engineering construction division. — The engineering construction 
division is in charge of the chief consulting engineer, an officer pro- 
vided for by the organic act, and has for its duties the preparation of 
plans and specifications for the construction of lighthouses and other 
structures on land. It is also charged with the inspection and testing 
of materials and the examination of all illuminating machinery and 
apparatus as supplied by the general lighthouse depot. 

Marine engineering division. — The marine engineering division is 
in charge of the superintendent of naval construction, an officer pro- 
vided for by the organic act, and has the management of affairs 
involving marine engineering and the construction and repair of the 
vessels of the service. This division is also charged with the exami- 
nation and filing of inventories submitted by masters and engineers 
of vessels, and reports of periodical inspection of lighthouse tenders 
by district officers. 

HydrograpJiic division. — The hydrographic division has charge of 
the examination of, and reporting upon, questions concerning the 
establishment, changes in, or discontinuance of, aids to navigation, 
so far as these affect primarily the requirements of navigation. As a 
general rule, recommendations for new aids, or changes in existing 
aids, originate with the district inspectors because of their knowledge 
of local requirements. Where they originate in the office, or are pre- 
sented by maritime interests, they are forwarded to the district in- 
spectors for report and recommendation before final action is taken. 
This division also has charge of the editing of matter relating to aids 
to navigation, the preparation of copy for publication in the Notices 
to Mariners, and the correction and revision of the lists of lights, buoys, 
and day marks in the several districts and their preparation for pub- 
lication. 

For the performance of the work of these divisions, constituting the 
bureau proper at Washington, the law (legislative, executive, and 
judicial appropriation act for 1912) makes provision for a personnel 
of 42 with a total annual compensation of $64,530. 

Districts. — For the administration of the service in the field the 
organic act provides "that the Commissioner of Lighthouses, subject 
to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, shall rear- 
range the ocean, gulf, and lake coasts and the rivers of the United 
States, Porto Rico, and the naval station in Cuba into not exceeding 
19 lighthouse districts." In pursuance of this law the country has 
been divided into the maximum number of districts. 

The law further provides that "el lighthouse inspector shall be 
assigned in charge of each district. The lighthouse inspectors shall 
each receive a salary of $2,400 per annum, except the inspector of the 
third district, whose salary shall be $3,600 per annum." They are 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 53 

appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. As has been 
pointed out, a characteristic feature of the old system, when the 
Lighthouse Board was in charge, was the use of Army and Navy offi- 
cers as inspectors in charge of these districts. In accordance with the 
provisions of the act of 1910 these positions will, in the future, be 
filled by civilians. For three years, however, Army and Navy officers 
may continue to serve. At the present time civilian inspectors have 
been appointed in but four districts. 

These inspectors have immediate charge of all field work in their 
respective districts with the exception of construction and repair 
work. They are thus responsible — 

for the proper management of light stations, fog-signal stations, light vessels, relief 
light vessels, lighthouse tenders, and depots; for keeping upon their stations all float- 
ing aids to navigation; for the maintenance, repair, and operation of all lighthouse 
craft permanently or temporarily in the district; for the construction of new aids or 
additions to aids; for the repair, cleanliness, and efficient condition of all aids to navi- 
gation and other property in the district; for keeping ready for service at the shortest 
notice all spare or relief moorings, buoys, appendages, and relief light vessels; .for the 
distribution of supplies; for the efficiency of the personnel; for the disbursement, as 
maybe authorized, of funds on account of the Lighthouse Service; and for such other 
duties as are involved in the proper conduct of the district. 

The regulations for the Lighthouse Service direct that inspection 
shall be made of all light vessels, tenders, depots, light and fog-signal 
stations, beacon and post lights, and buoys four times each year, and 
unlighted beacons twice each year, if practicable, and, if impracti- 
cable, that a report of the facts shall be made to the commissioner, 
with reasons for failure to make the required inspections. This in- 
spection can be made by the inspectors personally, but is usually per- 
formed by superintendents and assistant superintendents attached to 
their offices. These latter officers are appointed by the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor on the joint recommendation of the district 
inspectors and the Commissioner of Lighthouses, subject to the civil- 
service rules. They are concerned with the supervision of the con- 
struction work carried on within the district. These offices are 
maintained in all but the river districts. 

In addition to these officers, provision is also made for certain 
clerical and other assistants at the district headquarters. The fol- 
lowing statement shows the total number of employees attached to 
the district headquarters and the cost of running such offices: 

Number of employees 167 

Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 1 $9, 600. 00 

Other salaries and wages 209, 203. 33 

Rent 7, 174. 00 

Other items 51,671.57 

Total 1 277,648.90 

The above information is given for each district separately in 
Exhibit No. 4A, " History, organization, and activities of the Bureau 
of Lighthouses." 

Depots. — For the storing and distribution of the apparatus and 
supplies used by the field stations proper the service maintains 30 
depots. In Exhibit No. 4A is given a statement showing the number 

1 Salaries of the 15 Army and Navy officers acting as inspectors in charge are not included. 



54 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of employees and cost of mamtaining and operating each of these 
depots. The figures for all 30 combined are: 

Number of employees 220 

Salaries of persons in charge $26, 580. 00 

Other salaries and wages. 175, 883. 00 

Rent 898. 50 

Other items 42, 778. 15 

Total 246, 139. 65 

Of these depots the one at Tompkins ville, N. Y., is known as the 
general lighthouse depot, since it is maintained on a much larger 
scale than the others and differs from them in that important manu- 
facturing operations are carried on in connection with it. The total 
number of persons employed at it is 170, and the total cost of its 
operation is $183,433.14. It is located on Government property. 

For the distribution of equipment and supplies, the location and 
repair of aids to navigation, and the transportation of inspectors and 
other officials the service maintains a fleet of 57 lighthouse tenders, 
the total cost of the operation of which in 1911 was $1,379,127.12. 

Light stations and other aids to navigation. — The field stations 
proper, or the units performing the work for which the service is main- 
tained, consist of: 

1. Light stations proper, or lighthouses requiring the services of a 
keeper, or a keeper and assistants. 

2. Light vessels, which fulfill much the same purpose as light- 
houses. Though moored while serving as light stations, they are 
capable of locomotion under their own steam or sail power. 

3. Relief hghtships, which are used to take the place of light ves- 
sels when blown from their moorings or removed for repair or other 
purposes. 

4. Attended lights. These differ from light stations proper in that 
they do not require a keeper in constant attendance. 

5. Unattended lights. 

6. Buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation. 

The total number of persons employed by the service exceeds 5,000, 
and the total of appropriations for the service for 1912 was $5,935,360. 

ADMINISTRATION OF THE TWO SERVICES BY ONE BUREAU. 

In the foregoing the effort has been made to make as clear a state- 
ment as possible of the work done by these two services and the man- 
ner in which they are organized for its performance. Careful study 
of this statement and of the more detailed description of the organ- 
ization and activities of these two services given in the exhibits 
can, in the opinion of the commission, lead to but one conclusion — 
that the two can be most efficiently and economically administered 
by a single bureau. 

Similarity of the Two Services. 

fFBoth are organized and maintained for the same general purpose — 
the protection of fife and property endangered along the coasts and 
other navigable waters. Both have to maintain stations along the 
coast. Both have substantially the same business problems to meet 



KEPOKTS OF THE. COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 55 

in locating, constructing, and maintaining these stations, in recruit- 
ing a personnel, in manufacturing or purchasing equipment, in pur- 
chasing, housing in depots, and distributing supplies, in maintaining 
a field-inspection service, in maintaining telephonic and other means 
of communication, in disbursing funds, in keeping proper books of 
account, and in rendering reports showing financial and other trans- 
actions. 

It is true that the stations maintained by the two services are not 
identical in character and that the precise duties performed at them 
are not the same. These facts, however, in no way detract from the 
feasibility or desirability of having the two services administered by 
the same bureau. In this connection it is of importance to notice, 
and to emphasize, that the recommendation of the commission that 
the two services should be administered by a single bureau in no 
sense involves the consolidation of the field stations proper. On the 
contrary, the commission believes that the field stations of the two 
services should continue in great part to be maintained as now 
existing. 

At the present time the Bureau of Lighthouses is maintaining with- 
out difficulty different classes of field stations, the most important of 
which are: (1) Lighthouses, (2) lightships, and (3) buoys and other 
aids to navigation. The adoption of the recommendation of the 
commission would mean simply the addition to this list of a fourth- 
class of (4) life-saving stations. 

While the commission thus does not have in contemplation the 
consolidation of field stations proper, and, consequently, does not 
base its estimate of economies to be realized through action upon its 
recommendation upon any saving that will result in the operation of 
the field stations proper, it nevertheless believes that, in practice, 
possibilities for effecting economies in this branch of the work will 
arise at many points as soon as these various stations are brought 
under the same administrative direction. In another part of this 
report attention is directed to the fact that many of the life-saving 
stations are located within a fraction of a mile, or a mile, of two 
lighthouses. It is well within the bounds of possibility that, in a 
number of cases, it will be found advantageous, not only for the life- 
saving station to be located on the same reservation as the light- 
house to which it is contiguous, but, to a certain extent, to diminish 
the number of employees required to operate the two establishments 
by having the same person perform duties in respect to both. The 
possibility of doing this is especially great since the conditions of 
service at both lighthouses and life-saving stations are such that 
the personnel, to a considerable extent, are not actively employed all 
the time. Their presence is essential in order that their services may 
be available when need for them arises, rather than on account of 
the volume of work to be done from day to day. It thus may be 
found quite feasible for the keeper or one of the crew of a life-saving 
station to discharge the duties of assistant lighthouse keeper at the 
light contiguous to the life-saving station. 

As stated, the commission, though believing that economies may 
be realized in this way, does not base its recommendations for the 
placing of the two services under a common direction upon this 
ground. The recommendation of the commission is based upon the 
two facts that the problems of administering the two services are 



56 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

identical in character and that the field stations proper to be admin- 
istered are located so close to each other that a great economy can be 
realized by having their affairs directed by the same administrative 
service. In the following pages the attempt is made, by an analysis 
of existing conditions, to show, in as specific manner as circumstances 
will permit, how these field services can be more efficiently and 
economically administered by a single bureau in one department 
than by two bureaus in separate departments. In doing this each 
of the branches of administration that are required in order that the 
field stations proper shall properly perform their duties will be con- 
sidered separately. These different branches are: 

1. General administration. 

2. Construction and repair work. 

3. Provision of equipment. 

4. Maintenance of depots. 

5. Distribution of supplies. 

6. Field administration and inspection. 

Geneeal Administration. 

In the description of the two services given in the exhibits, the 
number, titles, and compensation of all persons attached to the 
bureaus proper of the two services at Washington are given. This 
statement shows the following total number of persons employed and 
aggregate of annual salaries carried by the pay rolls : 





Number. 


Salaries. 


Bureau of Lighthouses 


42 
32 


$64, 530 


Life-Saving Service 


48, 120 




Total 


74 


112, 650 







It is manifestly impossible to state precisely the reduction in 
number and compensation of employees that can be effected by a 
consolidation of the two offices. There can be no question, however, 
that it will be considerable. At the present time each service has 
three principal officers engaged in general supervision and control. 
They are: 

Bureau of Lighthouses: 

Commissioner of Lighthouses $5, 000 

Deputy commissioner 4, 000 

Chief clerk 2, 400 

11,400 

Life-Saving Service: 

General Superintendent 4, 500 

Assistant general superintendent 2, 500 

Principal clerk 2, 000 

9,000 

If the two offices at Washington are consolidated, but one set of 
superior officials will be required. This will mean the elimination of 
one bureau head and one chief clerk and probably also of one assistant 
bureau head. If all three are eliminated the saving will be at least 



EEPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 57 

$9,000. Granting, however, that it may be necessary to provide for 
a second assistant to handle the additional work, his salary will be 
more than offset by the saving that will result in the clerical help, 
rent and quarters, and other expenses pertaining to the offices proper 
of these officials. 

The net saving to be obtained in respect to the offices of these 
superior officers can thus be estimated at $9,000 annually. 

Disregarding clerical and messenger service, in the two subdivisions 
handling technical matters in the Washington offices, provision is 
made for the following personnel to perform duties in respect to con- 
struction and engineering work : 

Bureau of Lighthouses: 

Chief constructing engineer $4, 000 

Superintendent of naval construction 3, 000 

Assistant engineer , 3, 000 

Assistant engineer 2, 400 

Assistant engineer 2, 250 

Draftsman 1, 800 

Draftsman 1, 560 

Draftsman 1, 440 

Draftsman 1, 200 

20, 650 

Life-Saving Service: 

Civil engineer in charge 1, 800 

Topographer and hydrographer 1, 800 

Draftsman * 1, 500 

5,100 

The commission is of the opinion that an economy of at least 
$5,000 will result from the consolidation of the divisions for perform- 
ing this work. It is quite likely that the services of the three employ- 
ees shown under the Life-Saving Service can be dispensed with. It 
should be borne in mind that the technical questions involved in 
preparing plans and specifications for life-saving stations are com- 
paratively simple. Not only are the structures required to house the 
men and apparatus at life-saving stations of a simple character, but 
all conform to, or can be made to conform to, much the same model. 
Granting, however, that one or more of these employees will have to be 
retained, the saving to be effected in respect to clerical and other 
employees will more than offset their salaries. Thus, for example, it 
is quite likely that the services of the " title and contract clerk/ ' 
$2,000, and clerk, $1,200, assisting him, will not be required, since 
the duties of these two employees pertain chiefly to matters having to 
do with the acquisition of sites and the making of contracts for the 
erection of stations. 

In respect to other features of work performed in the Washington 
offices, such as general correspondence, maintenance of files, keeping 
of records, appointments, and the like, only the general statement can 
be made that some saving, which may be estimated at 10 per cent, will 
undoubtedly result. This will mean a further economy of $6,000. 

On this basis the total saving indicated amounts to $20,000. 

The commission, of course, recognizes that this estimate is approxi- 
mate. It may be that, when the actual work of consolidating the 
two offices is entered upon, it will be found that need will exist for 



58 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

certain of the officials whose services it is here suggested can be dis- 
pensed with. On the other hand, it will undoubtedly be- found that 
the services of other employees not here indicated for elimination 
will not be required. It should furthermore be noted that the com- 
mission has considered here the single item of salaries. Substantial 
economies will result in the lessening of the amount of space required 
to house the consolidated offices, in the use of light, fuel, and supplies, 
in messenger and janitor service, and all other items of expense that 
are involved in operating an office. 

Before leaving this subject of general administration one other 
point should receive consideration. In preparing this report the com- 
mission had in mind only an examination into the organization and 
activities of the two services for the purposes of determining whether 
or not, in its opinion, increased economy and efficiency could be 
secured by having the two services administered by a single bureau. 
It did not intend to make an examination of the manner in which the 
two services are organized and were conducting their work for the 
purpose of determining whether such organization and methods, as 
followed by the services individually, were or were not efficient. 
Notwithstanding this, the commission believes that attention should 
be called in this place to the apparently unnecessarily elaborate and 
expensive office that is being maintained by the Life-Saving Service 
at Washington. From an administrative standpoint, the direction 
of the affairs of this service is an exceedingly simple problem. The 
field service proper to be administered consists of 270 stations, all of 
which, with very slight modifications, are identical in character, and 
8 houses of refuge that consist merely of a building with one man in 
charge. The structures occupied are of simple construction. Use is 
made of much the same apparatus by all. The problem of recruiting 
a personnel consisting of a keeper and six or eight surfmen at each 
station is the same in all cases. In the same way all the other prob- 
lems of administration, the custody and distribution of supplies, the 
handling of accounts, etc., are of a uniform and simple character. 

In view of this simplicity and the uniformity in the field stations to 
be administered, it would seem that the problem of overhead super- 
vision and of performing the necessary business operations, of select- 
ing a personnel, of constructing and equipping the stations, of fur- 
nishing supplies, and of disbursing funds and otherwise handling 
financial transactions would be simple in the extreme and that, con- 
sequently, but a relatively small force would be required at head- 
quarters to handle the work to be done there. Notwithstanding this, 
the commission found, as has been pointed out, that the Washington 
office included a total of 32 officers and employees, the total of whose 
compensation amounted to $48,120. In the opinion of the commis- 
sion this represents a much more elaborate and expensive overhead 
organization than is required. The commission is satisfied that if a 
union of the two offices is had, in accordance with its recommenda- 
tion, a great saving can be effected through the reduction of personnel 
now employed. This will tend to increase still further the saving of 
$20,000, which the commission has estimated and which was made on 
the basis that both of the offices to be combined are now efficiently 
conducted and are not overmanned. 

In this connection it is of interest to note that a committee which, 
at the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, made an investiga- 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 59 

tion of the office of the general superintendent of the Life-Saving 
Service in 1911, reported that, in its opinion, a very considerable 
economy could be realized in that office by reorganizing it and elimi- 
nating work now being done which, in its opinion, was not of sufficient 
value to warrant its performance. In view of the foregoing the com- 
mission believes that its estimate of $20,000 as a saving to be effected 
in the offices at Washington through the placing of the ,two services 
under a common direction is a very conservative one. It is more 
than likely that the actual economy to be realized will exceed this 
amount. 

Construction and Kepair Work. 

In our consideration of general administration, or the bureau 
proper at Washington, attention was called to the fact that in each 
of these central offices divisions were being maintained to handle 
matters having to do with the acquisition of sites and the preparation 
of plans, specifications, and other papers for the construction of 
buildings, and of repairs of such importance as to require the atten- 
tion of the central office. The actual work of supervision of con- 
struction and repairs in the field in the Lighthouse Service is per- 
formed by superintendents and assistant superintendents, attached 
to the offices of the 19 districts into which the country is divided. 
Provision is made for these officers in all but the river districts. 

In the Life-Saving Service fLeldwork in respect to the construction 
and repair of buildings is performed through two offices of construc- 
tion and repair, one located at New York, N. Y., and the other at 
Portland, Oreg. The following statement shows the organization 
and personnel of these two offices: 



Atlantic and Lake coasts, headquarters, New York : 

1. Superintendent (captain, U. S. Revenue-Cutter 

Service) 

2. Assistant to superintendents of construction (chief 

clerk) 

3 . Clerk (class 2) 

4. Assistants to superintendents of construction (at 

$2,000 each) 

5. Assistants to superintendents of construction (at 

$1,800 each) 

6. Assistants to superintendents of construction (at 

$1,500 each) 



2. Pacific coast, headquarters, Portland, Oreg.: 

1. Superintendent (captain, U. S. Revenue-Cutter 

Service) _ 

2. Assistant to superintendents of construction 

3. Assistant to superintendents of construction 



Total. 




27, 800 



60 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It. will be seen from this statement that these two offices together 
have a personnel of 17, the aggregate of whose annual salaries, exclu- 
sive of the salaries of the two captains of the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
who are in charge of the offices, is $27,800. If the salaries of these 
two officers are included, the total salary list will be at least $35,000; 
and if expenses other than salaries, such as rent, supplies, light, fuel, 
etc., be included, the annual cost of maintaining these two offices 
can not be less than $40,000, and may considerably exceed that 
amount. We have already seen that the central office has engaged 
on construction work a title and contract clerk, $2,000; a civil 
engineer, $1,800; a topographer and hydrographer, $1,800; and a 
draftsman, $1,500; or a total, exclusive of clerical help concerned 
with authorizations, correspondence, and the like, of 4 persons, 
with aggregate annual salaries of $7,100. Including their general 
office expenses, it is probable that the Life-Saving Service is expend- 
ing annually not less than $50,000, not on construction work proper, 
but simplv on the preparation of plans for and the supervision of 
work of this character. 

In the opinion of the commission practically this entire sum will 
be saved as the result of placing the two services under the same 
administration. All work connected with the supervision of the con- 
struction of life-saving stations can be performed by the superintend- 
ents and assistant superintendents attached to the district offices of 
the Lighthouse Service. It is possible that some slight additions 
may have to be made to the force of assistant superintendents in 
some of the districts. Making an allowance of $10,000 on this ac- 
count, the net saving that would result from the two services being 
administered by a single bureau would be $40,000. 

In considering this matter it should be noted that the construction 
and repair work of the Life-Saving Service is an exceedingly simple 
matter. All of the stations perform identical duties and the struc- 
tures for all can be made to conform to practically the same model. 
This model, moreover, is not one presenting any difficult technical 
problems, such as are present in the case of lighthouses. The char- 
acter of structure required is merely one that will give proper housing 
facilities for the life-saving apparatus and the small crew of eight or 
nine persons. 

Provision of Equipment. 

The equipment required by the two services is of such a special 
character that much of it has to be either manufactured by the serv- 
ices themselves or specially contracted for. For the manufacture of 
much of its equipment the Lighthouse Service maintains a very com- 
plete manufacturing plant in connection with general depot at Tomp- 
kinsville, N. Y. The following statement shows the number of per- 
sons employed and the cost involved in operating this depot and 
manufacturing plant: 

Number of employees 170 

Salaries of persons in charge $2, 100. 00 

Other salaries and wages 158, 403. 00 

Rent 

Other items 22, 930. 14 

Total 183, 433. 14 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 61 

The Life-Saving Service does not manufacture its equipment, but 
has it constructed under special contract. Power lifeboats are built 
under contract at Bayonne, N. J., and power surfboats under contract 
at Greenport, Long Island. To supervise this construction work and 
that of certain other apparatus, the service maintains at New York a 
special office known as " Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, 
apparatus, etc." This office is in charge of a retired captain of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service and is located in the customhouse in New 
York City. The organization and personnel of this office are shown 
in the following statement: 

1 superintendent (captain, retired, Revenue-Cutter Service) 

1 assistant $2, 200 

1 clerk. . : 1, 200 

1 repairman 1, 200 

4 Total 4, 620 

If the compensation of the superintendent, which is paid from the 
appropriation for the support of the Revenue-Cutter Service, is 
included, the cost in salaries alone of maintaining this office is not 
less than $8,000 annually. If to this is added the rental value of the 
quarters occupied, and other office expenses, the total annual cost of 
maintaining this service can not be less than $10,000. 

In the opinion of the commission, practically this entire sum can be 
saved by placing the two services under the same general adminis- 
tration. It will be noted that the office of superintendence of con- 
struction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc., itself does no construction 
work; its duties are exclusively those of supervising work done else- 
where. There would seem to be no reason why this work can not 
be taken over by the Tompkinsville depot and manufacturing plant 
of the Lighthouse Service. It is quite possible that it will be found 
feasible and advantageous to have the power boats constructed there, 
or, as suggested by the committee of the Treasury Department which 
made an investigation of the Life-Saving Service, at the navy yards 
of the Navy Department. Whatever is done in respect to this, the 
Tompkinsville office can certainly take charge of the supervision of 
the work. Even granting that in order to do this work some addi- 
tion to the force of this office is required, the annual saving to be 
effected by having the work done here instead of maintaining a 
separate office for its performance should be at least $6,000. 

Maintenance of Depots. 

The purchasing, warehousing, and distribution of supplies to the 
hundreds of lighthouses and light vessels, to the 19 district offices, 
and other points at which supplies are used requires an elaborate 
organization on the part of the Lighthouse Service. For the ware- 
housing of supplies and equipment the service maintains 30 depots. 
The operation of these depots requires the services of 220 persons 
and entails a total cost of $246,139.65 annually. In the detailed de- 
scription of the service, given in Exhibit No. 4A, is given a statement 
showing the number of employees at and the cost of operating each 
station, the cost being shown in each case under the four heads, (1) 
salaries of persons in charge, (2) other salaries and wages, (3) rent, 
(4) other items. 



62 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

For warehousing and distribution of supplies to life-saving stations 
the Life-Saving Service maintains at New York City a general 
storehouse, and at Grand Haven, Mich., and San Francisco, Cal., 
subsidiar}^ storehouses. The warehouse in New York is located in a 
building (379, 381, and 383 Washington Street) specially rented for 
that purpose at an annual rental of $8,000. A small part of this 
building is used as quarters by the superintendent of construction of 
life-saving stations. The person in charge of this depot is also head 
of the service of inspection of life-saving stations. The organization 
and number and compensation of the personnel at this depot and at 
the two subsidiary depots are given in detail in Exhibit No. 3 A, 
"History, organization, and activities of the Life-Saving Service." 
From this statement it will be seen that the number of employees 
concerned with the storehouse proper at New York is 12 and the 
aggregate of their annual compensation, not including that of the 
inspector in charge, who is a captain of the Revenue-Cutter Service, is 
$13,440. To determine the total cost of maintaining and operating 
this depot, there should be added to this amount, (1) the salary of the 
captain of the Revenue-Cutter Service, (2) the $8,000 rental paid for 
the building, and (3) all items of expense other than salaries. 

The addition of these items would certainly bring the total annual 
cost of the depot to not less than $25,000. The cost of maintaining 
the two subsidiary depots is relatively small, each requiring the serv- 
ices of but one employee, known as shipping clerk. The shipping 
clerk at the Grand Haven depot receives an annual salary of $1,500 
and the one at the San Francisco depot $1,200. 

It is the opinion of the commission that if the two services are placed 
under the administration of a single bureau it will be entirely feasible 
for the large Tompkinsville depot of the Lighthouse Service to take 
over and discharge all the duties now being performed by the New 
York depot of the Life-Saving Service. In support of this opinion 
it should be noted that the supply problem of the Life-Saving Service 
is a relatively simple one. Although the Government pays for the 
subsistence of the keepers and crews of life-saving stations, this is done 
by a commutation of rations at the rate of 30 cents per man per day. 
Other supplies, as distinguished from equipment, which, under the 
proposed plan, will be furnished through the manufacturing branch 
of the main depot of the Lighthouse Service which, as stated, is 
likewise located at Tompkinsville, are few and simple in character. 
In the same way it will probably be feasible for the work now done 
by the Grand Haven and San Francisco depots to be taken over by 
the depots of the Lighthouse Service located in the same general 
neighborhood. The cost of maintaining these two depots, in view 
of the fact that $2,700 is paid for salaries alone, can not be less than 
$5,000. If this recommendation is carried out, the expense now sus- 
tained in operating the three depots of the Life-Saving Service, which, 
as has been shown, amounts to at least $30,000, will be eliminated. 
Ten thousand dollars is a liberal estimate of the additional cost that 
would be entailed on the part of the Tompkinsville depot to handle 
this work. The net saving that would result from the consolidation 
here suggested would thus be at least $20,000 annually. 



KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 63 

Distribution of Supplies. 

The maintenance of depots constitutes, however, but one of the 
items of expense connected with the handling of supplies. There 
remains the very important item of transportation of supplies from 
the depots to the stations where they are to be used. 

For this and other purposes the Lighthouse Service had in com- 
mission, in 1910, 40 inspectors' tenders and 17 engineers' tenders, the 
total cost of whose maintenance and operation during the year was 
reported as $1,270,185.91. The total cost of maintenance and opera- 
tion of these vessels is not chargeable to distribution of supplies and 
equipment, since the vessels are used by the inspectors in making 
their inspections, in planting buoys and other aids to navigation, and, 
generally, for all purposes for which they are adapted. 

The Life-Saving Service, as a rule, delivers its supplies to stations 
by railroad, though use for this purpose is to a certain extent made of a 
few motor boats belonging to the service. The annual report of the 
service for 1910 mentions $10,013.54 as being expended during the 
year for "freight, packing, storage, telegraphing, etc." It is impos- 
sible to state how large a part of this sum is chargeable to the single 
item of freight. It is fair to assume, however, that at least $8,000 is 
due to this item. It is the opinion of the commission that the greater 
part of this expense will be saved if the two services are administered 
by a single bureau. As shown in Exhibit No. 2 A, "Statement show- 
ing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse, " 
practically all of the life-saving stations are in close proximity to a 
lighthouse. Supplies for the stations can thus be delivered at the 
same time and by the same agencies as are employed in delivering 
supplies to lighthouses. The net economy to be thus realized may be 
estimated at $4,000 annually. 

Field Administration and Inspection. 

In all cases where numerous stations are maintained in the field, 
provision is required for an inspection service. This can be made by 
providing for a corps of traveling inspectors attached to the central 
office, or by dividing the territory to be covered into districts, and 
placing in charge of each an official with the duty of exercising imme- 
diate direction, control, and supervision over the work done at the 
stations within his district. 

The latter policy has been adopted by the Lighthouse Service. For 
purposes of direct administration of work in the field, the country has, 
in accordance with provision of law, been divided into 19 districts. 
The boundaries, headquarters, number of persons employed, and the 
expense of maintaining and operating each of these districts are given 
in Exhibit No. 4A, "History, organization, and activities of the 
Bureau of Lighthouses." As has been pointed out elsewhere, all but 
four of these districts are in charge of officers of the Army or Navy, 
detailed for that purpose. Under the terms of the act of 1910 reor- 
ganizing the Lighthouse Service, civilians must be substituted for 
these officers not later than July 1, 1913. The total personnel at the 
headquarters of these 19 districts numbers 167, and the total cost of 
maintaining and operating these offices in 1910 was $277,648.90. 
This, however, does not include the salaries of the 15 Army and Navy 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 5 



64 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

officers now discharging the duties of inspector in charge. The 
inspectors in charge are assisted by officers known as superintendent 
and assistant superintendent, clerks, and certain other employees. 
The regulations prescribe that the inspectors, superintendents, or 
assistant superintendents shall visit and inspect all light vessels, 
tenders, depots, light stations, fog-signal stations, beacons, and post 
lights and buoys four times a year, and unlighted beacons twice each 
year, if practicable; and if impracticable, to make a report of the 
facts to the commissioner, with reasons for failure to make the 
required inspections. The further duty that the superintendents 
and assistant superintendents have of inspecting and supervising 
construction and repair work has already been mentioned. 

For the performance of the work of field supervision the Life-Saving 
Service maintains two subservices or branches: (1) For general 
administration and inspection of the field stations, and (2) for inspec- 
tion through officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

For purposes of general administration the country is divided into 
13 districts. At the head of each district is a "district superintend- 
ent," who, except in the case of the eighth district, is assisted by 
a clerk. The following statement shows the number of persons and 
their compensation embraced in this division of the service: 

10 superintendents, at $2, 200, each $22, 000 

2 superintendents, at 12.000 each 4, 000 

1 superintendent, at $1,900 1, 900 

12 clerks to superintendents, at $900 each 10, 800 

25 Total 38, 700 

District superintendents conduct the general business of their dis- 
tricts, look after the needs of the stations, make requisitions, for 
repairs, etc. They also act as disbursing officers and paymasters 
and are ex officio inspectors of customs. They are required by the 
regulations to visit the stations in their districts at least once a quar- 
ter and on these occasions they pay off the crews and make such 
other disbursements as are authorized. 

In addition to this service of general field administration and 
inspection, the Life-Saving Service maintains, in connection with its 
storehouse at New York, an office of inspection, which is presided 
over by an officer of the Revenue-Cutter Service. The work of this 
officer as head of the general storehouse has already been described. 
To assist him in his duties as inspector he has nine other officers of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service serving under him as assistant inspectors. 
The inspector makes no inspections personally, that work being 
done by the assistant inspectors. These officers are apparently 
given wide discretion in the performance of their duties. During 
the fiscal year 1911, the nine assistant inspectors made a total of 
750 inspections. The average salary of each officer was $3,588.02, 
and the average expense per officer was $1,418.61, a total per officer 
of $5,006.63. The cost for this extra inspection by officers of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service exceeded $45,000. 

The character and duties of the systems of field administration and 
inspection maintained by the two services under consideration have 
been given with some particularity, since the commission is impressed 
with the fact that in the system maintained by the Lighthouse Service 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 65 

there exists an organization and personnel that are in every way 
equipped to perform all of the work of field inspection required in 
respect to both services, if, in accordance with the recommendation 
of the commission, the administration of the two services is placed 
under a single bureau. 

The cost of maintaining the 13 district offices is, as has been shown, 
838,700 in salaries alone. Other items of expense, including that 
for travel, would bring the total cost of these officers to not less than 
•S45,000. It is probable that the total cost is much more than this 
sum. If to this we add the cost of the inspection work performed 
by the officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service, $45,000, we have a 
total of 890,000 for cost of field supervision and inspection. 

The discontinuance of these two services would mean a corre- 
sponding saving. It is impossible to say how great an additional 
force would be required in the 19 district offices of the Lighthouse 
Service to take care of the extra work that would be thrown upon 
them if their duties included the general supervision and inspection 
of life-saving stations and houses of refuge. It is believed, however, 
that no great addition to their present force wall be required. As 
has been repeatedly pointed out, the life-saving stations are in prac- 
tically all cases located in close proximity to lighthouses. The same 
officer could thus inspect both establishments at the same time. 
The chief need for additional employees would be at district head- 
quarters to handle routine matters of general # administration. The 
commission believes that $30,000 would be an extremely liberal 
estimate for such purpose. This would leave a net saving in this 
particular, as a result of placing the two services under the same 
bureau, of $60,000 annually. 

RECAPITULATION AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 

In the foregoing the attempt has been made to indicate, in as 
great detail as circumstances permit, the manner in which, in the 
opinion of the commission, proceedings should be had looking to 
the administration by a single bureau in the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor of the two services under consideration, and the 
economies that could be realized by so doing. These economies are 
recapitulated as follows: 

Economy in respect to : 

1; General administration, Washington offices $20, 000 

2. Construction and repair work 40, 000 

3. Provision of equipment 6, 000 

4. Maintenance of depots 20, 000 

5. Distribution of supplies 4, 000 

6. Field administration and inspection 60, 000 

Total 150, 000 

The commission does not claim that these figures are more than 
approximate. At the same time it believes that they represent 
conservative estimates. It may be that, owing to factors and con- 
ditions with which it is not familiar, it has neglected to point out 
obstacles to be overcome in placing the two services under the 
same administrative head and has failed to make allowances for 
certain expenses. On the other hand, to offset such omissions 
there are undoubtedly opportunities for saving that it has not taken 



66 REPORTS OP THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

into consideration in formulating its estimates of economies. If 
some of these estimates can be shown to be too high, others are 
probably too low. The commission accordingly believes that its 
figure for total savings of $150,000 is a conservative one. 

This economy, moreover, represents but a part of the advantages 
that would accrue from the change. A great improvement would 
result from the relief that would be afforded to the Treasury Depart- 
ment. The work of the Life-Saving Service in no way pertains 
to the general duties of that department. Taking this service from 
under this department would relieve the Secretary of the Treasury 
from his present responsibility for the proper administration of that 
service, and thus permit him to concentrate his attention more 
exclusively upon matters pertaining to the management of the 
financial affairs of the Nation. 

In another report the commission has recommended the abolition 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Affirmative action upon the rec- 
ommendations contained in this report will complement the action 
there proposed. If the recommendations contained in both reports 
are accepted and acted upon, a long step will have been made toward 
relieving the present congested condition of the Treasury Depart- 
ment and toward a more logical and satisfactory grouping of services 
having to do with maritime affairs. 

Respectfully submitted. 

F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman . 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

W. W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
Harvey S. Chase. 
M. O. Chance, 

Secretary. 



Exhibit No. 1A. 

Report of the Joint Committee on the Life-Saving Service 
and the Bureau of Lighthouses, 1911. 

The undersigned committee, appointed at the request of the Presi- 
dent's Commission on Economy and Efficiency and representing that 
commission, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of 
Commerce and Labor, submits the following report of its investigation 
and consideration of the relations existing between the Lighthouse 
Service of the Department of Commerce and Labor and the Life- 
Saving Service of the Treasury Department. 

The committee does not consider it necessary in this report to set 
out at length a history of either service. The laws establishing and 
changing from time to time the organization and methods of work of 
each service and the printed regulations must be referred to for 
detailed information as to the organization, powers, and duties of 
these services. We shall refer to the law, the regulations, and the 
practices as the same may be pertinent to the particular subjects 
discussed in this report. 

At the beginning of the Government, work similar to that now done 
by the Lighthouse Service was recognized and encouraged. Through 



■REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 67 

various changes in organization and management the service came to 
the time, in 1852, when the Lighthouse Board, composed largely of 
Army and Navy officers, was created to manage the work of the Light- 
house Establishment. The board was under the Treasury Depart- 
ment until the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor, 
in 1903, when it was transferred to the latter department. 

By the act of Congress of June 17, 1910, the Lighthouse Board was 
abolished and the Bureau of Lighthouses, in charge of a Commissioner 
of Lighthouses, was created. A civilian inspector, to be in charge of 
each of not more than 19 districts, was authorized by law, in place 
of the former plan of having a Navy officer as inspector and an Army 
officer as engineer assigned to each district. The service has appro- 
priations of more than $5,000,000 annually. Its employees number 
about 5,000 and are engaged in the maintenance of the many thou- 
sands of lights and other aids to navigation. The commissioner, 
since his appointment, has been engaged not only in the management 
of the work but in effecting changes in organization and methods in 
order to decrease the expense of the service and to increase its 
efficiency. 

The Life-Saving Service dates from 1871, although appropriations 
had been previously made, such as that in 1847, of $5,000 "for fur- 
nishing the lighthouses on the Atlantic coast with means of rendering 
assistance to shipwrecked mariners.'' Since 1871 various laws have 
been passed to make the service separate and distinct from the 
Revenue-Cutter Service, of which it was at first a part; to make the 
employees independent of political influence; and in other ways to 
make the service more efficient as well as more extensive in its 
operations. The present general superintendent has been in charge 
of the work since 1871. Under his supervision the service was prac- 
tically created and has been built up and expanded. At the present 
time it includes about 280 life-saving stations and houses of refuge, 
more than 2,300 emplo}^ees, and has appropriations of about two and 
a half million dollars annually. 

The Lighthouse Service establishes and maintains lighthouses, 
light vessels, buoys, and other aids to navigation for the protection 
of commerce on the coasts and rivers of the United States and out- 
lying possessions. The Life-Saving Service is charged with the duty 
of saving life and property from vessels stranded or endangered as a 
result of wrecks occurring or threatening along the coasts of the 
United States. The work of the two services, as carried on along 
the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, 
and the shores of the Great Lakes, is similar in that the purpose of 
both is the prevention of the loss of life and property, and the work 
of both services is performed at about the same places. It is found 
on investigation that practically every life-saving station is near a 
lighthouse, some being within a few hundred feet, while a few are a 
number of miles distant. 

When considering this similarity of duties and the geographical 
location of the posts of the two services the committee has been led 
to the conclusion that the maintenance and operation of the two 
services should not be under separate executive departments of the 
Government, but that both should be under one department, and 
that the Department of Commerce and Labor. The latter has charge 
of lighthouses and other establishments, such as the Bureau of 



68 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Navigation and the Bureau of Steamboat Inspection, having to do 
with commerce and maritime affairs. In the management of Gov- 
ernment business it is recognized that close cooperation is not possi- 
ble, as a practical question, between two services connected with 
different executive departments. The laws and appropriation acts 
are not such as to bring about a convenient use, by a service in one 
department, of the facilities of a service in another department. 
It seems to us that when two services, such as those under considera- 
tion, are closely related in character of work and in location of posts 
and stations, it is advisable they be maintained and operated under 
one department in order to secure that measure of cooperation that 
leads to economy without decrease of efficiency. 

It also appears to us that, by combining the Life-Saving Service 
with the work of maintaining and operating the Lighthouse Service, 
substantial savings in the following classes of work might result 
without decrease in the efficiency of either service: 

1. In the work of supervision and direction from the bureau office 
in Washington, including the handling of personnel, the plans for 
the construction and repair of buildings and the direction of the 
work, the supervision and direction of advertising for bids and con- 
tracting for supplies, and the direction of the necessary field 
inspections. 

2. In the supervision and direction of the work in the districts 
and especially in the construction and repair of buildings, in dis- 
bursing money for salaries and other expenses, in clerical service 
in district offices, and in the frequent inspections of stations and 
equipment, and the maintaining of discipline. 

3. In the management of storehouses, the handling of supplies, 
and the delivery thereof to stations. 

Under the existing law (sec. 4249 R. S.) all life-saving stations 
must be erected under the supervision of two captains of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service. This section should be repealed and the construction 
and maintenance of life-saving stations be cared for as in similar 
work in the Lighthouse Service. 

Under the act of June 18, 1878, the Secretary of the Treasury may 
detail officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service as inspectors and assist- 
ant inspectors of life-saving stations. During the fiscal year 1911 
nine of these officers made 750 inspections, the pay, allowances, and 
expenses of the officers amounting to $45,041.67, an average of 
$5,004.63 for each inspector and of $60 for each inspection. Three 
of the inspectors made a total of 396 inspections, while six inspectors 
made a total of 354 inspections. In the case of the latter the average 
number of inspections made by each inspector was but 59. The cost 
of inspection by Revenue-Cutter officers appears to be excessive in 
comparison with the cost of the work by other agencies. The com- 
mittee is of the opinion that the inspection of life-saving stations 
should be made by officers connected with the Life-Saving Service. 
This would produce more satisfactory results at a great saving of 
expense. The necessity for the use of Revenue-Cutter officers in this 
work has long since passed. The General Superintendent of the Life- 
Saving Service states: 

Another important duty assigned to Revenue-Marine officers in the beginning was that 
of drilling the crews, who, although expert surfmen, were entirely unaccustomed to 
disciplinary government. The superintendents were also equally untrained in 
methodical means of handling organized bodies. The training which the Revenue- 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OK ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 69 

Marine officers had received in their own corps was of very great use in this respect, 
although they themselves had to acquire from the life-saving crews a familiarity with 
the art of handling boats in the surf, an art which is no part of the profession of a sailor, 
whose business it is to conduct vessels from one port to another and to keep as far away 
from the dangers of the surf as practicable. They also had to learn the method of 
handling the wreck ordnance, so unlike any then used on shipboard. Owing to the 
fact that now, as has been the case for nearly a quarter of a century, promotions to the 
position of station keeper in the Life-Saving Service are made from the ranks of the 
surfmen and those to the position of district superintendents from the keepers by 
merit, these officers have become fully as competent to drill the crews as the Revenue- 
Cutter officers, whom, as a matter of fact, upon their first assignment to this duty, they 
have to instruct. So it will be seen that the service itself possesses among its keepers, 
and it might be said even among its surfmen, an abundance of men who are entirely 
competent to discharge the inspection duties now performed by the assistant inspectors 
detailed from the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

The expenses of the Life-Saving Service, excluding the salaries of 
district superintendents and the salaries and allowances of keepers and 
surfmen, are approximately one-half million dollars. This latter 
amount includes the purchase, handling, and delivery of apparatus 
and supplies, maintenance of telephone lines, rebuilding and repair of 
buildings, inspection service, traveling and miscellaneous expenses, 
and salaries and expenses in connection with the items named. With 
the possible exception of the telephone line service, it is our opinion 
that all this work could be efficiently handled through similar agencies 
maintained by the Lighthouse Service. 

The committee has not attempted to reach a conclusion as to form 
of organization, number of employees needed, salaries to be paid, etc., 
in the service that would be established to do the work now done by 
the two. It does not feel competent to do so without making a 
detailed investigation in every district. The working out of the plan 
for using the facilities of both services without duplications, and with 
full cooperation, must come after the combining of the two services is 
decided upon. It is a work that can be properly done only by those 
upon whom the responsibilities for directing the work will fall. 

The committee is of the opinion that if one bureau to administer the 
lighthouse and life-saving work is provided, as recommended, the 
overhead or indirect cost ought to be less by at least $80,000 a year 
than at present. After the first year, and when the present services 
are completely brought together, the reduction in expense should be 
considerably larger. 

A minority report, made by Mr. O. M. Max am, representing the 
Treasury Department, is attached hereto. 

W. W. Warwick, 
Representing tlie President's Commission on 

Economy and Efficiency. 
R, L. Faris, 
Representing the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

October 24, 1911. 

Minority Report by Mr. O. M. Maxam, Representing the Treas- 
ury Department. 

My understanding has been that the purpose of the investigation 
just concluded by the committee was to ascertain what changes, if 
any, might be made with respect to the organization and work of the 
Lighthouse Service and the Life-Saving Service, as related to each 
other, that would result in increased economy and efficiency. 



70 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Naturally, through my connection with the Life-Saving Service, I 
am more familiar with the laws, organization, regulations, history, 
work, and needs of that service than with those of the Lighthouse 
Service, but I have endeavored to arrive at as complete an under- 
standing of the latter as could be gained from discussion with my 
colleagues on the committee and the examination of available publi- 
cations relating to the service. 

The foregoing statements of the majority of the committee with 
respect to the past history and present organization and control of 
the two services seem in the main sufficient for the purposes of this 
report. 

Briefly stated, the province of the Lighthouse Service is to estab- 
lish and maintain aids to navigation for the prevention of loss of 
life and property from shipwreck. 

Briefly stated, the province of the Life-Saving Service is the 
preservation of life and property from shipwreck. 

Both services probably find their origin in that clause of the Con- 
stitution which gives to the Congress the power to regulate commerce 
with foreign nations and among the several States. 

While the ultimate aim of both services may be said to be identical, 
the means, processes, methods, apparatus, equipment, and personnel 
employed by each to accomplish its authorized functions are of neces- 
sity totally different. 

Light stations and light vessels are fixed agencies requiring the con- 
stant, undivided, and vigilant attention of their keepers and crews 
on the spot. 

Life-saving stations ashore are merely the headquarters of the crews, 
whose duties require them to go wherever their services may be needed 
at wrecks and also to patrol the beaches and maintain watches for the 
early discovery of wrecks and the hastening of relief. Their heaviest 
work is performed at the scene of trouble, in the great majority of 
cases miles away from their places of abode. They must take with 
them, as is well known, of course, the equipment necessary to effect 
the rescue of those to whose assistance they go. 

There is but little if any similarity in the duties of the members of 
the two services. 

There is rarely occasion calling for cooperation between the two 
services in the performance of the duties of the men. 

The requirements as to the qualifications of the members of the 
two services are entirely different, as I understand them. Professional 
experts in surfmanship and wreck craft are indispensable in the Life- 
Saving Service. The service is one of experts, preeminently the case 
in reference to station keepers and crews, upon whose professional 
skill and experienced judgment so often rest the issues of life and 
death. Men possessing these distinctive qualifications, it is under- 
stood, are not essential to the successful conduct of the business of 
the Lighthouse Service. 

The present life-saving system was introduced in 1871, and from 
that time until 1878 its duties were conducted in connection with the 
Revenue-Marine (now Revenue-Cutter) Service of the Treasury 
Department. On June 18, 1878, an act entitled "An act to organize 
the Life-Saving Service" was passed by Congress, which provided for 
the appointment by the President of the United States, by and with 
the consent of the Senate, of "a suitable person, who shall be familiar 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 71 

with the various means employed in the Life-Saving Service for the 
saving of life and property from shipwrecked vessels, as General 
Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service, who shall, under the imme- 
diate direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, have general charge 
of the service and of all administrative matters connected there- 
with * * * ." Through the operations of this act the Life- 
Saving Service was detached from the Revenue-Marine Service and 
became a separate bureau. 

From its earliest inception the Life-Saving Service has been a part 
of the Treasury Department. 

The work of the Life-Saving Service is at this time, as it has been 
for many years past, interwoven and more or less intimately con- 
nected with other Treasury establishments, namely, the customs 
service, Revenue-Cutter Service, Public Health and Marine-Hospital 
Service, and the mint service. 

The district superintendents and keepers of stations are by law 
inspectors of customs. 

Collectors of customs are required to forward to the General Super- 
intendent of the Life-Saving Service reports of the loss of life on or 
damage or disaster to vessels of the United States. 

In addition to the relations which at present exist between the 
Life-Saving Service and the Revenue-Cutter Service, under the 
provisions of section 4249 of the Revised Statutes and section 8 of 
the act of June 18, 1878, there is a standing order (No. 60), dated 
January 9. 1905, of the Secretary of the Treasury, directing the 
cooperation of the two services in the location of wrecks and strand- 
ings and for relief service, a matter of the very highest importance in 
speedily concentrating effective agencies in dealing with shipwrecks. 
A copy of the order is submitted herewith, marked " Order No. 60.' ■ 

I agree with the majority report "that when two services * * * 
are closely related in character of work and in location of posts and 
stations it is advisable they be maintained and operated under one 
department * * *." This close relation is especially true with 
reference to the character of work and location of posts and stations 
of the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue-Cutter Service. It is a 
part of the duties of revenue cutters, assigned under statute, to 
patrol the coast during the inclement season of the year for the 
saving of endangered life and property from marine disaster. This 
they do, keeping in close touch with the life-saving stations with 
which they can communicate by signals. When the cutters are not 
so cruising their headquarters are so arranged that their assistance 
can be immediately summoned by wire. Through their cooperation 
at wrecks many lives and much property have been saved. Thus 
the connection between these two branches of the Treasury Depart- 
ment is much more intimate and useful than can possibly be the case 
between the Lighthouse Service and the Life-Saving Service. 

All disability and death claims in the Life-Saving Service for the 
benefits provided by sections 7 and 8 of the act of May 4, 1882, 
together with the accompanying evidence, are referred to the Surgeon 
General of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service for exami- 
nation and opinion as to whether the medical evidence is sufficient. 
The Surgeon General also furnishes his professional advice to the 
general superintendent, when so requested, in other matters arising 
in the Life-Saving Service seeming to require the judgment of medical 



72 EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

authority. The medical officers of the Public Health and Marine- 
Hospital Service throughout the country make the annual physical 
examinations of the crews of life-saving stations and examinations in 
particular cases at any time as required. 

The Mint Bureau furnishes all the life-saving medals awarded under 
section 7 of the act of June 20, 1874, section 12 of the act of June 18, 
1878, and section 9 of the act of May 4, 1882, and also furnishes the 
cases and mountings for the medals. 

Under a recent order of the Secretary of the Treasury the Super- 
vising Architect of the Treasury Department will hereafter prepare 
plans and specifications for certain construction work of the Life- 
Saving Service. This adds another Treasury bureau with which the 
Life-Saving Service will have intimate dealings. 

All these bureaus being under the Treasury Department, it is 
obvious that closer cooperation must obtain between them and the 
Life-Saving Service than would be the case if they were not in the 
same department. 

The transfer of the Life-Saving Service to the Department t of Com- 
merce and Labor, as proposed by the majority of the committee, is 
not a new question. Several of the bills that were introduced in 
Congress to create the new department provided for such transfer. 
After exhaustive hearings on the bills, before the Committee on Inter- 
state and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, that com- 
mittee reported Senate bill 569 (57th Cong., 1st sess.) with some 
amendments, one of which excluded the Life-Saving Service from its 
provisions. This bill was enacted into law. The question is there- 
fore submitted whether Congress having expressed itself in this 
manner would now give its approval to a measure proposing the 
transfer. 

I would not go as far as to say that the business of the Life-Saving 
Service could not be successfully performed in another department 
of the Government, but I am of the opinion, under present conditions, 
that it can be performed with less friction, less circuitousness, and 
with greater directness, dispatch and efficiency in the Treasury 
Department than in any other, and that the best interests of the 
service will be subserved by its retention in the Treasury Department. 
The weight of argument, notwithstanding the relation of the service 
to commerce, seems opposed to a change, in the present circumstances. 

It should be kept in mind that the Life-Saving Service of this 
country is a many-sided institution and is expected to and does extend 
its humane offices in many avenues, not directly connected with com- 
merce, that inure to the public good. Excerpting in this regard from 
a paper entitled " Organization and methods of the United States 
Life-Saving Service," prepared by the general superintendent and 
read by him before the International Marine Conference of 1889, the 
service guards the lives of persons in peril of drowning by falling into 
the water from piers and wharves in the harbors; it places over 
peculiarly dangerous points upon the rivers and lakes a sentry pre- 
pared to send instant relief to those who incautiously or recklessly 
incur the hazard of capsizing in boats; it conducts to places of safety 
those imperiled in their homes by the torrents of flood, and conveys 
food to those imprisoned in their houses by inundation and threatened 
with famine; it saves from destruction by fire hotels, dwellings, and 
other structures; it prevents the commission of burglaries and 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 73 

robberies, etc. The annual reports of the general superintendent 
regularly exhibit a long line of beneficent services rendered by the 
crews of stations outside of their duties as members of the Life-Saving 
Service. 

The combining of the Lighthouse Service and the Life-Saving 
Service, with stations in close proximity, as they are in many cases, 
having such widely separated functions, performed of necessity by 
distinctly different methods and means, where the required qualifica- 
tions of the men composing each corps are in no wise comparable and 
in which varying rates of pay and allowances would doubtless prevail 
and unequal conditions of routine and living obtain, likely resulting 
in discontent, jealousy, and inharmony, would be, in my judgment, 
detrimental to the public interests, and I fear would result in dimin- 
ished efficiency on the part of both establishments. 

An interchange of duties among the men of the two establishments, 
except perhaps in the simplest routine, could not be thought of. 
The great majority of men in the Life-Saving Service are surf men 
who are enlisted on account of their special qualifications as herein- 
before explained, and even if in exceptional cases an interchange of 
duties were- possible of accomplishment, it is not likely that suitable 
men could be secured who would be willing to perform lighthouse 
duty one hour and life-saving duty the next. 

The crews of life-saving stations are made up of hardy, able- 
bodied surfmen usually selected from native fishermen and beachmen 
on account of their familiarity with the habits of the surf and the 
handling of boats. 

The position of No. 1 surf man in a crew is filled by promotion from 
the grade of surf man. He must be the best qualified man in the 
crew and competent to take the keeper's place in the latter's absence. 

Keepers of stations are selected and appointed from surfmen in 
the district in which the vacancy occurs. They must be experts in 
surfing and in the maneuvering of boats; familiar with the shoals, 
tidal currents, and shifting bars adjacent to their territor}^; of un- 
questionable skill and bravery and possess that ready resourcefulness 
which enables them to handle boats and command men in fearful 
emergencies. 

Superintendents of districts are promoted from keepers in the dis- 
trict in which the vacancy occurs, after competitive examination. 
They must be familiar with the coast line embraced in their districts 
and conversant with the management of surf boats, lifeboats, and 
life-saving apparatus and appliances in general use at life-saving 
stations, and qualified to conduct the general business of their 
districts. 

It will be seen that this plan of original selection and succession in 
office insures to the Life-Saving Service a body of skilled officers and 
men, thoroughly trained in their peculiar profession and for the 
serious and responsible duties that are incumbent upon them. 

The supervision, inspecting, and drilling of life-saving crews must 
be performed by trained officers, who are thoroughly familiar witli 
the requirements of the service, with the station equipment, the land 
gear, and its operation, and lifeboats and surfboats and their special 
management. They must have knowledge of the surf and an eye 
trained to its dangerous caprices, and, I may say, its intricacies. 
They must know without suggestion from a keeper when to put a 



74 EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

crew into the surf for the purpose of drilling only, without incurring 
hazardous risk. 

The Lighthouse Service conducts a work of great magnitude and 
importance, requiring for its performance officers of high professional 
attainments, experience, and skill, with a practical knowledge of the 
various details connected with the establishment. 

But, as has been previously indicated, the two services are operat- 
ing in distinctly different lines of activity where a comparison of 
functions, duties, qualifications, and responsibilities is entirely inap- 
plicable. 

In each service distinctive professional training and experience and 
expert knowledge and attainments are indispensable requisites. 

Therefore should the combination suggested be made, there would 
seem to be no escape from the maintenance in the field of two separate 
and distinct units, each performing its special functions under an 
independent corps of experienced inspecting and supervising officials. 
Thus practically the two establishments would still survive without 
appreciable change except perhaps in nomenclature. 

tinder these circumstances I do not believe that any saving in 
money which might be effected — the amount of which can only be a 
matter of conjecture at this time and which for the most part can 
only be developed with any degree of accuracy by actual perform- 
ance — in the three classes of work mentioned in the majority report 
ought to be permitted to operate in the direction of combining these 
two branches of the public service so widely separated in their 
functions and quality of operation. I can not assert that there 
would be no saving by the combination; neither can I see where 
there would be any saving commensurate with the interests involved. 
The majority of the committee expresses the opinion that by the 
suggested combination a saving of at least $80,000 a year ought to 
be effected, but no basis is given for the opinion. I do not believe 
that any material saving could be effected if efficiency is not to be 
allowed to suffer. Each of these services is charged with the admin- 
istration of affairs of grave importance and responsibility, and no 
step should be taken with respect to them that might lead to embar- 
rassing complications and conclusions. Where the guarding and 
saving of human life are concerned, the road should be kept as clear 
as our governmental agencies can make it of perplexing and embar- 
rassing situations. The issues are too important, too grave, to invite 
them. 

And here, if I do not go beyond my privilege, I would suggest for 
consideration the question whether the Lighthouse Service which is 
now undergoing or which may have already undergone a radical 
reorganization in pursuance of the act of June 17, 1910, doubtless 
involving many important changes looking to the betterment of the 
establishment and imposing upon the authorities additional burdens 
of administration, should be further disturbed at this early period. 

The Life-Saving Service under the administration of the Treasury 
Department, I personally know, for the past few years has introduced 
and is still introducing important changes in the material which the 
age has developed and which have already greatly added and will con- 
tinue to add to the efficiency of the service, and it would seem to be 
undesirable and unwise, in this transition, to transfer the directing 
power from one department to another. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 75 

There remains still a very important consideration as concerns the 
efficiency of the Life-Saving Service and the well-being of its corps. 
It is a matter that strikes at the very foundations of the service. I 
refer to the question of some adequate provision being made for cer- 
tain officers and men in the field when they are no longer physically 
capable of performing their duties. For nearly two decades efforts 
have been made to induce Congress to provide the necessary legisla- 
tion. I will not attempt to review the history of the bills introduced 
in Congress for the purpose. It is sufficient to say that the Treasury 
Department gave its unqualified indorsement to Senate bill 5677, 
Sixty-first Congress, second session, which passed the Senate on June 
25, 1910. It failed, however, of passage in the House of Representa- 
tives, the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce not having 
reported upon it. 

I presume, although I speak personally and without authority, that 
further efforts will be made to secure the much-needed legislation, and 
if such should be the case, it would seem that the separation of the 
service from the Treasury Department which has fostered the meas- 
ure for so many years, to say nothing of the combining of the service 
with another bureau, whose interests might be, and excusably so, in 
another direction, would hinder, if not altogether destroy, the pros- 
pects of early or even favorable action. 

As to the matter of a combined supervision and direction of con- 
struction and repair work, it may be stated that the crews of life- 
saving stations make practically all minor repairs themselves, the 
Government furnishing the material. Large construction and repair 
work is contracted for and competent service employees are charged 
with its supervision. Sometimes keepers, when they are known to be 
competent for the purpose, supervise important construction and 
repairs. I believe that work of this character in the service is eco- 
nomically supervised, considering the unusual conditions under which 
it must be done. 

It has already been determined to close the offices of the superin- 
tendents of construction of life-saving stations, and to immediately 
direct the work now under their charge from Washington, except that 
required by section 4249, Revised Statutes. 

The detail of officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service to act as 
inspector and assistant inspectors of stations in the Life-Saving 
Service, as provided for in section 8 of the act of June 18, 1878, is not 
mandatory upon the Secretary of the Treasury, and if he considers 
that the value of their services is not commensurate with the expense 
incurred, it is within his authority at any time to withhold the details. 

The matters relating to the detail of these officers to the Life-Saving 
Service, to their inspection and other duties in the service, and to 
the cost of the inspections, etc., referred to in the majority report of 
this committee, are exhaustively discussed by the General Superin- 
tendent of the Life-Saving Service in his comments upon the report 
of a committee which examined into the methods of conducting busi- 
ness in the Life-Saving Service, about a year ago. In the quotation 
made in the majority report from the general superintendent in rela- 
tion to inspections by the Revenue-Cutter officers in which it is stated 
that the service itself possesses among its keepers and surfmen an 
abundance of men who are competent to discharge the inspection 



76 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

duties now performed by detailed officers from the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, it will be observed that he does not state that a saving to the 
Government would be effected thereby. On the contrary he shows 
that if the duties are to be performed by persons taken from the 
Life-Saving Service, whose compensation in view of the rank and 
importance of an inspecting officer, should be raised to a reasonable 
figure, the cost to the Government of the inspection would be actually 
more than that now incurred, because the officers of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service hold life positions, and would be entitled to their com- 
pensation whether performing life-saving duty or not. (See page 56 
of the general superintendent's comments of March 25, 1911.) 

I understand that the Secretary of the Treasury has determined to 
recommend the repeal of so much of section 4249 of the Revised Stat- 
utes as provides ' l that all life-saving stations hereafter erected shall 
be erected under the supervision of two captains of the Revenue 
Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and to be 
under his direction." 

Finally, I would call attention to the fact that the Life-Saving 
Service of this country has acquired and still maintains undisputed 
preeminence over all institutions of its kind in the world. As early 
as 1880 its superiority was practically acknowledged by Vice Admiral 
J. R. Ward, Royal Navy, chief lifeboat inspector of the Royal 
National Lifeboat Institution of Great Britain, which until then was 
regarded as the foremost organization of its kind in existence. The 
International Life-Saving Congress held at Toulon, France, in 1890, 
pronounced the service of the United States the best and most com- 
plete. The work it achieves in the saving of life and property is 
vastly greater than that of any similar institution. In view of 
these facts, and of the esteem in which it is held in our own country 
and by all maritime nations, I submit that a proposition to change 
the conditions under which so much has been accomplished is one 
that should not be entertained without the most serious considera- 
tion, and whose adoption would not be justifiable except for the most 
cogent reasons. 

In view of the foregoing considerations, I can not concur in the con- 
clusions of the majority of this committee, that the Life-Saving 
Service should be transferred to the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, nor in their suggestion having in view the combining of the 
Lighthouse Service and the Life-Saving Service. 

Respectfully submitted. 

0. M. Maxam, 
Representing the Treasury Department 

Washington, D. C, October 24, 1911. 



reports of the commission on economy and efficiency. 77 

Order No. 60. 

cooperation of revenue-cutter service and life-saving serv- 
ice in location of wrecks and strandings, and for relief 

SERVICE. 

Treasury Department, 

Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, January 9, 1905. 
To commanding officers of vessels of the United States Revenue- Cutter 

Service, and keepers of life-saving stations: 

The following instructions are promulgated for your government, 
and you will he held responsible for the strict and energetic enforce- 
ment of the same so far as the several provisions are applicable to 
your respective commands: 

1. News of wrecks or stran dings occurring within the scope of 
their respective stations will be immediately reported by telegraph 
or other speediest way by the keepers of life-saving stations to the 
General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service, who will convey 
the same to the Secretary of the Treasury (Division of Revenue- 
Cutter Service) by telephone, to be confirmed by forwarding imme- 
diately a copy of the message by messenger. 

2. All keepers of life-saving stations will communicate the presence 
and location of wrecks or strandings to revenue cutters passing by 
displaying the " preparatory 7 ' distant signal (a black ball, for which 
they will make requisition), when the cutter is too distant to com- 
municate by code signals, and by code signals or other most effective 
means when practicable. 

3. Revenue cutters will fly their numbers in passing life-saving 
stations for identification. 

4. As soon after the receipt of this circular as practicable, com- 
manding officers of cutters and keepers of life-saving stations nearest 
the anchorages of the former will confer and arrange for cooperation 
in rendering relief service. They will fix a place or places where tele- 
phonic or telegraphic news of wrecks will be forwarded and received; 
the methods employed to be systematic and adapted to the location 
of revenue cutters and life-saving stations. 

5. Keepers of life-saving stations will understand that these orders 
are not intended in any way to interfere with their duties and those 
of their crews in proceeding immediately to, or in attending upon, 
vessels in distress, but only to secure cordial and effective coopera- 
tion between the two services referred to in saving life and property 
from shipwreck and relieving marine distress by the speediest means. 

6. Commanding officers of revenue cutters having complied with 
section 4 above, will report all details of the arrangements made to 
the department, and the keepers of life-saving stations will make 
similar report to the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving 
Service. 

Leslie M. Shaw, Secretary. 



78 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Exhibit No. 2A. 

Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse. 



Life-saving stations. 



Nearest lighthouse. 



Name. 



Distance, 
nautical miles 
(approximate). 



First district: 

Quoddy Head, Me 

Cross Island, Me 

Great Wass Island, Me. 

Cranberry Islands, Me. . 

White Head, Me 

Burnt Island, Me . 

Damiscove Island, Me. . 

Hunniwells Beach, Me.. 

Cape Elizabeth, Me. . . . 

Fletchers Neck, Me 

Portsmouth Harbor, Me. 

Wallis Sands, N. H 

Rye Beach, N. H 

Hampton Beach, N. H.. 
Second district: 

Salisbury Beach, Mass. . 

Newburyport, Mass 

Plum Island, Mass 

Straitsmouth, Mass 

Gloucester, Mass 

Nahant, Mass 

City Point, Mass 

Point Allerton, Mass 

North Scituate, Mass. . . 

Fourth Cliff, Mass 

Brant Rock, Mass 

Gurnet, Mass 

Manomet Point, Mass. . 

Wood End, Mass 

Race Point, Mass 

Peaked Hill Bars, Mass. 

High Head, Mass 

Highland, Mass 

Pamet River, Mass 

Cahoons Hollow, Mass... 

Nauset, Mass 

Orleans, Mass 

Old Harbor, Mass 

Chatham, Mass 

Monomoy, Mass 

Monomoy Point, Mass... 

Coskata, Mass 

Surfside, Mass 

Maddaket, Mass 

Muskeget, Mass , 

Gay Head, Mass 

Cuttyhunk, Mass 

Third district: 

Brenton Pointy R. I 

Narragansett Pier, R. I. 

Point .In dith, R. I 

Quonochontang, R. I 

Watch Hill, R. I 

Fishers Island, N. Y 



West Quoddy Head . . 

Avery Rock 

Moose Peak 

Baker Island 

Whitehead 

Marshall Point. ...... 

The Cuckolds 

Fort Popham 

Cape Elizabeth (E). . 

Wood Island 

Whaleback 

....do 

....do 

Newburyport Harbor. 



.-..do 

do 

do 

Straitsmouth 

Tenpound Island 

Egg Rock 

Long Island Head 

Boston 

Minots Ledge 

do 

Plymouth (Gurnet) .... 

do 

do 

Wood End 

Race Point 

do 

Cape Cod 

do 

....do 

Nauset Beach 

do 

do 

Chatham, North 

Chatham, South 

Monomoy Point 

Nantucket (Great Point) 

Brant Point 

....do 

Cape Poge , 

Gay Head 

Cuttyhunk 



Castle Hill... 
Whale Rock.. 
Point Judith. 
Watch Hill... 

....do 

Latimer Reef. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 79 
Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse — Con. 



Life-saving stations. 



Nearest lighthouse. 



Name. 



Third district — Continued. 

Sandy Point, R. I 

New Shoreham, R. I... 

Block Island, R. I 

Fourth district: 

Montauk Point. N. Y. 1 . 

Ditch Plain, N. Y 

Hither Plain, N. Y.... 

Napeague, N. Y 

Amagansett, N. Y 

Georgica, N. Y 

Mecox, N. Y 

Southampton, N. Y 

Shinnecock, N. Y 

Tiana, N. Y 

Quogue, N. Y 

Potunk, N. Y 

Moriches, N. Y 

Forge River, N. Y 

Smiths Point, N. Y.... 

Bellport, N. Y 

Blue Point, N. Y 

Lone Hill, N. Y 

Point of Woods, N. Y.. 

Fire Island, N. Y 

Oak Island, N. Y 

Gilgo, N. Y 

Jones Beach, N. Y 

Zachs Inlet, N. Y 

Short Beach, N. Y 

Point Lookout, N. Y... 

Long Beach, N. Y '.. 

Far Rockaway, N. Y... 

Rockaway, N. Y 

Rockaway Point, N. Y. 

Coney Island, N. Y 

EatonsNeck, N. Y 

Rocky Point, N. Y 

Fffth district: 

Sandy Hook, N. J 

Spermaceti Cove, N. J.. 

Seabright, N. J 

Monmouth Beach, N. J. 

Long Branch, N. J 

Deal, N. J 

Shark River, N.J 

Spring Lake, N. J 

Squan Beach, N. J 

Bayhead, N. J 

Mantoloking, N.J 

Chadwick, N. J 

Toms River, N.J 

Island Beach, N.J 

Cedar Creek, N.J 

Forked River, N. J 

Barnegat, N. J 



Block Island, North 

Block Island, Southeast. 
....do 



Montauk Point . . 

do 

do 

do 

Cedar Island 

....do 

....do 

Shinnecock Bay. 
....do . 



do 

do 

do 

do 

....do 

Fire Island.. 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Throgs Neck. 
....do 



Coney Island. 
do 



Eatons Neck 

Long Beach Bar. 



Sandy Hook. 

Navesink 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Sea Girt.... . 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Barnegat 

do 

....do 

....do 

....do 



37542- 



1 In charge of keeper of Ditch Plain Station. 
-H. Doc. 670, 62-2 6 



No crew employed. 



80 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse — Con. 



Life-saving stations. 



Fifth district — Continued. 

Loveladies Island, N. J. 

Harvey Cedars, N.J 

Ship Bottom, N. J 

Long Beach, N. J 

Bonds, N. J 

Little Egg, N. J 

Little Beach, N. J 

Brigantine, N.J 

South Brigantine, N. J.. 

Atlantic City, N. J 

Absecon, N. J 

. Great Egg, N.J 

Ocean City, N. J 

Pecks Beach, N. J 

Corson Inlet, N. J 

Sea Isle City, N. J 

Townsend Inlet, N. J... 

Avalon, N. J 

Tathams, N. J 

Hereford Inlet, N. J 

Holly Beach, N.J 

Two Mile Beach, N. J... 

Cold Spring, N.J 

Cape May, N. J 

Bay Shore, N.J. 1 

Sixth district: 

Lewes, Del 

Cape Henlopen, Del 

Rehoboth Beach, Del. . . 

Indian River Inlet, Del. 

Bethany Beach, Del 

Fenwick Island, Del 

Isle of Wight, Md 

Ocean City, Md 

North Beach, Md 

Green Run Inlet, Md... 

Popes Island, Va 

Assateague Beach, Va... 

Wallops Beach, Va 

Metomkin Inlet, Va 

Wachapreague, Va 

Parramore Beach, Va. . . 

Hog Island, Va 

Cobb Island, Va 

Smith Island, Va 

Seventh district: 

Cape Henry, Va 

Virginia Beach, Va 

Dam Neck Mills, Va 

Little Island, Va 

False Cape, Va 

Wash Woods, N. C 

PenneysHill, N. C 

Currituck Beach, N. 0.. 

PoynersHill, N. C 

Caffeys Inlet, N. C 



Nearest lighthouse. 



Name. 



Barnegat 

do 

do 

Tucker Beach. 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Absecon 

....do 



....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Ludlow Beach. 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Hereford Inlet. 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Cape May 

do./. 

....do 



Distance, 
nautical miles 
(approximate). 



Cape Henlopen. 

do 

do 

do 

Fenwick Island. 

do.. 

do 

do 

....do 

Killick Shoal... 

....do 

Assateague 

....do.! 

....do 

Hog Island 

do 

....do 

....do 

Cape Charles... 



Cape Henry 

do 

....do 

....do 

Currituck Beach. 

....do 

....do 

....do 

....do 

North River 



2i 
4| 
8£ 
5f 

i 
3 

At light! 
2* 
6i 
8| 
6i 
4i 

340 feet. 
2± 
31 
2* 

300 feet. 
2\ 
4i 
2i 

780 feet. 
1 

H 
I 
5 



li 
3 

16 

n 

i 

4f 

m 

12£ 

1* 

7* 
light. 



At 



4f 

8i 
14| 
14 

9| 

5 

I 
5 

n 



1 In charge of Cape May station. No crew employed. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 81 

Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse — Con. 



Life-saving stations. 



Seventh district — Continued. 

Paul Gamiels Hill, N. C. 

Kitty Hawk, N. C 

Kill Devil Hills, N. C... 

Nags Head, N. C 

Bodie Island, N. C 

Oregon Inlet, N. C 

Pea Island, N. C 

New Inlet, N. C 

Chicamacomico, N. C 

Gull Shoal, N. C 

Little Kinnakeet, N. C... 

Big Kinnakeet, N. C 

Cape Hatteras, N. C 

Creeds Hill, N. C 

Durants, N. C 

Hatteras Inlet, N. C 

Ocracoke, N. C 

Portsmouth, N. C 

Core Bank, N. C 

Cape Lookout, N. C 

Fort Macon, N. C 

Bogue Inlet, N. C 

Cape Fear, N. C 

Oak Island, N. C 

Eighth district: 

Sullivans Island, S. C. . . , 

Bulow, Fla. 1 

Mosquito Lagoon, Fla. 1 ... 

Chester Shoal, Fla. 1 

Cape Malabar 

Bethel Creek, Fla. 1 

Indian River Inlet, Fla. i 

Gilberts Bar, Fla. 1 

Jupiter Inlet, Fla 

Orange Grove, Fla 

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 1 . . . 

Biscayne Bay, Fla. 1 

Ninth district : 

Santa Rosa, Fla 

Sabine Pass, Tex 

Galveston, Tex 

San Luis, Tex 

Velasco, Tex 

Saluria, Tex 

Aransas, Tex 

Brazos, Tex 

Tenth district: 2 

Big Sandy, N. Y 

Salmon Creek, N. Y. 3 

Oswego, N. Y 

Charlotte, N. Y 

Niagara, N. Y 

Buffalo, N. Y 

Erie, Pa 



Nearest lighthouse. 



Name. 



Oswego 

Genesee (West Pier) 

Fort Niagara 

Buffalo 

Presque Isle Pierhead . . 
Ashtabula, Ohio I Ashtabula Range Front. 



North River 

Croaton 

do 

Bodie Islands 

do 

do 

do 

Long Shoal 

do 

do 

Cape Hatteras 

do 

....do 

....do 

Hatteras Inlet 

....do 

Ocracoke 

....do 

Harbor Island Bar. 

Cape Lookout 

do 

....do 

Cape Fear 

Bald Head 



Fort Sumter 

Mosquito Inlet. 
do 

Cape Canaveral. 



Jupiter Inlet. 

do 

do 



Hillsboro Inlet. 
Fowey Rocks. . 



Pensacola 

Sabine Pass 

Bolivar Point... 
Brazos River... 

....do 

Matagorda 

Aransas Pass. .. 
Brazos Santiago. 



Stony Point. 



1 House of refuge. No crew employed. 

2 The distance under this district is shown in statute miles. 



Destroyed by fire. 



82 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse — Con. 



Life-saving stations. 



Nearest lighthouse. 



Name. 



Distance, 
nautical miles 
(approximate). 



Tenth district — Continued. 

Fairport, Ohio 

Cleveland, Ohio 

Lorain, Ohio 

Marblehead, Ohio 

Louisville, Ky 

Eleventh district: 

Lake View Beach, Mich 

Harbor Beach, Mich 

Pointe aux Barques, Mich 

Port Austin, Mich 

Tawas, Mich 

Sturgeon Point, Mich 

Thunder Bay Island, Mich 

Middle Island, Mich 

Hammond, Mich 

Bois Blanc, Mich 

Vermilion, Mich .. 

Crisps, Mich 

Two Heart River, Mich 

Deer Park, Mich 

Grand Marais, Mich 

Marquette, Mich 

Portage, Mich 

Duluth, Minn 

Twelfth district: 1 

Beaver Island, Mich. 2 

Charlevoix, Mich 

North Manitou Island, Mich 

South Manitou Island, Mich 

Sleeping Bear Point, Mich .... 

Point Betsie, Mich 

Frankfort, Mich 

Manistee, Mich 

Grande Pointe au Sable, Mich. 

Ludington, Mich 

Pentwater, Mich 

White River, Mich 

Muskegon, Mich 

Grand Haven, Mich 

Holland, Mich 

South Haven, Mich 

St. Joseph, Mich 

Michigan City, Ind 

South Chicago, 111 

Jackson Park, 111 

Old Chicago, 111 

Evanston, 111 

Kenosha, Wis 

Racine, Wi3 

Milwaukee, Wis 

Sheboygan, Wis 

Two Rivers, Wis 

Kewaunee, Wis 

Sturgeon Bay Canal, Wis 

Baileys Harbor, Wis 

Plum Island, Wis 



Fairport 

Cleveland West Breakwater . 
Lorain Range Front Light. . 
Marblehead 



4 
4 
i 



Fort Gratiot 

North (Main) 

Pointe aux Barques 

Port Austin Reef 

Tawas 

Sturgeon Point 

Thunder Bay Island 

Middle Island 

Forty Mile Point 

Bois Blanc 

Crisp Point 

do 

do 

do 

Big Sable 

Marquette 

Portage Lake Ship Canal. 
Duluth Front Light 



Beaver Island Harbor 

Charlevoix Pierhead 

North Manitou 

South Manitou 

....do..... 

Point Betsie 

Frankfort Pierhead Front 

Manistee 

Grande Pointe au Sable 

Ludington Pierhead Front... 

Pentwater Pierhead Rear 

White River 

Muskegon Pierhead Rear 

Grand Haven Pierhead Rear. 

Holland Pierhead Front 

South Haven Pierhead 

St. Joseph Pierhead Rear 

Michigan City West Pierhead . 

Calumet Pierhead 

do 

Chicago Pierhead Rear 

Grossepoint 

Kenosha Pierhead 

Racine Pierhead 

Milwaukee Pierhead Front . . . 

Sheboygan Pierhead 

Two Rivers Pierhead 

Kewaunee Pierhead Rear 

Sturgeon Bay Canal 

Bailey Harbor Rear 

Pilot Island 



54 
f 

Near light. 
2 

i 

Near light. 

1 

* 

64 

4| 

* 

19* 

71 

I 

i 
Near light. 

8 

3| 

4 

6| 

4 

4 

Near light. 
1 
4 
4 

4 

4 
4 



4 
4 

4 
4 
4 
4 
Near light. 

14 
24 



i The distance under this district is shown in statute miles. 



2 No crew employed. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 83 
Statement showing location of life-saving stations in relation to nearest lighthouse — Con. 



• 


Nearest lighthouse. 


Life-saving stations. 


Name. 


Distance, 
nautical miles 
(approximate). 


Thirteenth district: 

Nome, Alaska 






Waaddah Point, Wash 


Cape Flattery 


5| 

i 

l 


Grays Harbor, Wash 


Grays Harbor 


Wiliapa Bay, Wash r 


Wiliapa Bay 


Ilwaco Beach, Wash 


North Head 


10 


Cape Disappointment, Wash 

Point Adams, Oreg 


Cape Disappointment 


\ 


Desdemona Sands 


5 


Tillamook Bay, Oreg 


Cape Meares 


Yaquina Bay, Oreg 


Yaquina Head 


3i 

21 


Umpqua River, Oreg 


Umpqua River 


Coos Bay, Oreg 


Cape Arago 


3f 

\ 

5 


Coquille River, Oreg 


Coquille River 


Humboldt Bay, Cal 


Humboldt 


Arena Cove, Cal 


Point Arena 


2i 

3 


Point Reyes, Cal 


Point Reyes 


Bolinas Bay, Cal. 1 






Point Bonita, Cal 




i 

4i 


Fort Point, Cal 


Fort Point 


Golden Gate, Cal 


Mile Rocks 


Southside, Cal 


do 







Destroyed by fire. 



Exhibit No. 3A. 

CONTENTS. 

Page. 

1. History 84 

2. Relations between the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue-Cutter 

Service 86 

3. Functions or activities of the service 87 

4. Organization of the service 87 

1. General administration 88 

1. General superintendent 89 

2. Assistant general superintendent 91 

3. Principal clerk 91 

1. Legal 91 

2. Statistical 92 

3. Construction and repair of life-saving stations 93 

4. Authorizations 94 

5. Personnel 94 

6. Correspondence and files 94 

7. Bookkeeping and accounts 94 

2. Construction and repair of life-saving stations 95 

3. Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc., New York. 96 

4. Construction and maintenance of telephone lines 96 

5. Storehouse and inspection of life-saving stations, New York, N. Y 97 

6. Board of life-saving appliances 98 

7. Life-saving districts and stations 99 

8. Recapitulation of personnel , 102 

5. Outline of organization relating to the Life-Saving Service 103 

6. Compilation of laws relating to the Life-Saving Service 127 

7. Regulations of the service 131 

8. Summary of expenditures of the service, fiscal year 1911 132 

9. Appropriations for the service, fiscal year 1912 133 

10. Bibliography of the service 135 

History, Organization, and Activities of the Life-Saving 

Service. 

HISTORY. 

The present Life-Saving Service of the United States has its origin 
in steps taken by Congress looking to the provision of the Lighthouse 
Establishment with facilities for aiding shipwrecked mariners. 

One of the earliest suggestions looking to the use of the Lighthouse 
Establishment for this purpose is found in a communication by 
Messrs. Bunt, of New York City, to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
under date of November 30, 1837, in which the following statement 
appears : 

In the appointment of light keepers it is often necessary that other qualifications 
besides the capacity to keep a light in good order should be considered, when the 
lighthouses are in situations remote from settlement. It frequently happens that the 
keeper can render assistance to those that are shipwrecked or to vessels in distress. 

In 1845 Lieuts. Jenkins and Bach, of the Navy, were detailed by 
the Secretary of the Treasury — 

to visit Great Britain and France to procure information which might tend to the 
improvement of the lighthouse system. 

These officers in making their investigation were struck with the 
fact that the lighthouse system of Great Britain provided for the 
84 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 85 

taking of steps looking to the saving of life of seamen. Their report, 
published in 1846, called attention to the fact that the corporation 
having in charge the matter of lighting the port and harbor of Liver- 
pool, not satisfied with their perfect system of lighting, had — 

further provided for the safety of seamen by adding a number of lifeboats to their 
charge * * * finding it intimately connected with the Lighthouse Establishment, 
and having heard of the many and great benefits which have resulted from it as being 
a part of the most complete whole, we deem it proper to refer to it in this connection. 

Undoubtedly prompted by the suggestion contained in this report 
of these officers, Mr. McClelland in 1847 moved an amendment, which 
he supported by a speech on the floor of the House, to the lighthouse 
bill then under consideration : 

For furnishing the lighthouses on the Atlantic coast with means of rendering assist- 
ance to shipwrecked mariners, five thousand dollars; the same to be under the control 
and direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

The speech of Mr. McClelland is apparently the first plea made in 
Congress for such an appropriation, and the amendment itself, which 
was passed in the exact terms in which it was introduced, provided 
the first appropriation for furnishing assistance to the shipwrecked 
from the shore. The act seems to have contemplated, as did the 
subsequent legislation of Congress prior to the formal organization 
of this service, an extension of the activities of the Lighthouse Service, 
though the law prescribed that the appropriation should be expended 
under the supervision of the officers of the Revenue-Marine Service. 

In the following year, the act of August 14, making provision for the 
Lighthouse Service, contained a clause appropriating the sum of 
$10,000— 

for providing surfboats, rockets, and other necessary facilities for the better protection 
of life and property shipwrecked on the coast of New Jersey between Sandy Hook and 
Little Egg Harbor * * * the same to be expended under the supervision of such 
officer of the Revenue-Marine Corps as may be detailed for this duty by the Secretary 
of the Treasury. 

Again, in 1849, a similar appropriation was made for life-saving 
facilities for different parts of the coast. 

In 1859, by act of December 14, Congress authorized the Secretary 
of the Treasury to establish such stations on the coasts of Long Island 
and New Jersey, for affording aid to shipwrecked vessels thereon, and 
to make such changes in the location of existing stations and such 
repairs, and furnish such apparatus and supplies, as might in his 
judgment be best adapted to the preservation of life and property 
from shipwrecked vessels. 

The act of Congress, Jury 28, 1866, provided further appropriation 
for this work. 

Up to this time no effort had apparently been made either to give 
this service any independent status or to organize it upon a formal 
basis. In fact until the passage of the act of Congress of July 15, 
1870, no provision was made for the payment of lifeboat crews, 
dependence being placed entirely on volunteers. In 1871, however, 
a separate administrative organization for the Life-Saving Service 
was created within the Revenue-Marine Service, and the beginning of 
the present system was effected in that year with the enactment of a 
code of regulations by the Secretary of the Treasury under the 
authority of the legislation then existing. 

The steps leading up to and the circumstances surrounding the 
establishment of this system, the operation of which were confined 



86 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

to the New Jersey and Long Island coasts, are told in the comments 
of the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service on the 
report of a committee appointed to investigate the conduct of business 
in the Life-Saving Service, dated March 25, 1911, as follows: 

Very shortly after taking charge of the Revenue-Marine Service I discovered the 
existence upon the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey of a number of rude huts, each 
containing a boat such as was then used by the local fishermen in passing through the 
surf, and a few articles of primitive apparatus for use in efforts to effect rescues from 
vessels which might be wrecked in the vicinity. These buildings were known as 
life-saving stations. I caused an examination of them to be made by the detail of 
two officers of the Revenue-Marine Service, who made an inspection of every station. 
I accompanied them a part of the way in order to acquaint myself thoroughly with the 
existing conditions. During the trip I gathered such information as I could relative 
to the necessity of such an establishment and its efficiency, and became convinced 
that it was capable under proper development of effecting great good. I accordingly 
determined to set about the work which has finally resulted in the present life-saving 
establishment. The most available instrumentalities for assistance in beginning this 
work were the Revenue-Marine officers under my direction, and with their aid and 
the judicious expenditure of an appropriation of $200,000, which I succeeded in obtain- 
ing, I was able within a year to bring about an improved efficiency that excited the 
astonishment of the coast inhabitants and the marine interests. Extensions of the 
service to other dangerous portions of the coast were demanded from time to time by 
the inhabitants and by commercial and maritime organizations. 

By act of March 3, 1873, Congress provided — 

That all life-saving stations hereafter erected shall be erected under the supervision 
of two captains of the Revenue Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury and to be under his direction. 

This, the initial law relative to the construction of life-saving sta- 
tions, has remained unchanged to the present time. 

On June 30, 1874, Congress, by the passage of the act entitled " An 
act to promote the efficiency of the Life-Saving Service," gave legal 
sanction to the preliminary organization effected in 1871 and provided 
for the establishment of numerous life-saving stations. 

Four years later, following two serious disasters at sea and a con- 
gressional investigation of the Life-Saving Service, which resulted in 
a vindication of the manner in which the service had been adminis- 
tered by the Treasury Department, there was passed the act of June 
13, 1878, which gave to the service its present independent status. 

This act, which is entitled "An act to organize the Life-Saving 
Service," constitutes the organic act of the service and has remained 
practically unchanged until the present time. Legislation has, of 
course, followed providing for the establishment of additional stations 
and additional funds. The only subsequent legislation affecting 
materially the organization of the service is, however, contained in 
the act of May 4, 1882, entitled " An act to promote the efficiency of 
the Life-Saving Service and to encourage the saving of life from 
shipwreck," which provided, among other things, for the taking of the 
service out of the spoils system. The section of the act regarding this 
point reads as follows: 

That the appointment of district superintendents, inspectors, and keepers and 
crews of life-saving stations shall be made solely with reference to their fitness and 
without reference to the political party or affiliations. 

RELATIONS BETWEEN THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE AND THE REVENUE- 
CUTTER SERVICE. 

One of the most characteristic features of the organization of the 
Life-Saving Service is the fact that though constituting an independ- 
ent service, the law provides that use shall be made by it of officers of 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 87 

the Revenue-Cutter Service for the performance of a number of its 
important duties. One of the cases where this is done has been 
mentioned, that of the law of March 3, 1873, which provided that: 

All life-saving stations hereafter erected shall be erected under the supervision of 
two captains of the Revenue Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the 
Treasury and to be under his direction. (R. S., 4249.) 

The law of June 18, 1878, establishing the Life-Saving Service on 
its present basis, provided that: 

The Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or officers of the Revenue- 
Marine Service as may be necessary to act as inspector and assistant inspectors of 
stations, who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service 
as may be required of them by the seneral superintendent. (Act of June 18, 1878 ; 
chap. 265. 20 Stat. L., 164.) 

Later, provision was made by the legislative, executive, and judicial 
appropriation act of February 26, 1889, that: 

Hereafter nothing in section * * * shall be construed to prevent the Secretary 
of the Treasury from detailing not exceeding two officers of the Revenue-Marine 
Service for duty in the office of the Life-Saving Service. (Chap. 279, 25 Stat. L., 719.) 

These three provisions of law are still in force and under them 
officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service are performing the duties above 
enumerated for the Life-Saving Service. One captain and nine other 
officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service are filling the positions of 
inspector and assistant inspectors of life-saving stations; two captains 
are filling the positions of superintendents of construction and repair 
of life-saving stations, and one captain is filling the position of super- 
intendent of construction of lifeboats and apparatus. Though while 
on this detail they are engaged exclusively upon work for the Life- 
Saving Service, they are carried on the rolls of and paid from appro- 
priations for the Revenue-Cutter Service. This fact must be borne 
in mind in determining the total cost entailed in maintaining the 
former service. 

The existence of this rather anomalous condition of affairs is ac- 
counted for by the fact that the creation and development of the 
service were due largely to the efforts of one man, Sumner I. Kimball, 
who at the time of the establishment of the service was head of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service. Upon the Life-Saving Service being for- 
mally established he became its head, and has personally directed its 
affairs from that date to the present time. But for this it is prac- 
tically certain that a complete divorce of the two services would long 
ago Have taken place. 

FUNCTIONS OR ACTIVITIES OF THE SERVICE. 

This service has conferred upon it by law the performance of but 
a single function — that of affording aid to shipwrecked vessels and 
assisting in the preservation of life and property thereby endangered. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE SERVICE. 

Attached to this exhibit is given the outline of organization of 
the Life-Saving Service as set forth in the report of the commission 
on the organization of the Government, July 1, 1911. The purpose 
of this outline is to set forth in detail the manner in which the service 
is organized for the performance of its activities. 

It will be seen from this outline that the Life-Saving Service is 
organized in what may be called seven major subdivisions, viz: 

1. An office of general administration at Washington. 



88 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

2. A service in the field to have charge of the construction and 
repair of life-saving stations, consisting of two offices — one at New 
York, N. Y., and the other at Portland, Oreg. 

3. A service for the superintendence of the construction of life- 
boats, apparatus, etc., at New York, N. Y. 

4. A service for the superintendence of the construction and main- 
tenance of telephone lines, with headquarters at Newark, N. J. 

5. A storehouse and service for the inspection of life-saving sta- 
tions, located at New York, N. Y. 

6. A board for the investigation of life-saving appliances that 
usually meets once a year in Boston, Mass. 

7. A field service proper consisting of 270 life-saving stations and 
S houses of refuge. 

General Administration. 

In order to show in still greater detail both the character of the 
organization of this branch of the service and the number and com- 
pensation of its personnel, there is inserted here its outline of organi- 
zation carried out so as to show the number, title, and compensation 
of each class of employees coming under each subdivision indicated. 



Number. 



Salary. 



1. General administration {office at Washington): 

1. General superintendent 

2. Assistant general superintendent 

3. Principal clerk 

4. Legal — 

1. Title and contract clerk 

2. Clerk (class 1) 

5. Statistical — 

1. Clerk (in charge), class 4 

2. Clerks (class 3), $1,600 each 

3. Clerk (class 1) 

4. Clerk (class D) . . . :_ # 

6. Construction and repair of life-saving stations 

1 . Civil engineer (in charge) 

2. Topographer and hydrographer 

3. Draftsman 

7. Authorizations — 

1. Clerks (class 4), $1,800 each 

2. Clerk (class 1)... 

3. Clerk (class D) 

8. Personnel — 

1 . Clerk (class 2) 

2. Clerk (class 3) 

9. Correspondence and files — 

1. Clerks (class 2), $1,400 each 

2 . Clerk (class E) 

10. Bookkeeping and accounts — 

1. Clerks (class 3), $1,600 each 

2. Clerks (class 1), $1,200 each 

3. Clerk (class E) 

11. Miscellaneous — 

1. Clerk (class 2) 

2. Clerk (class E) 

12. Messenger, assistant messenger, and laborer.. 

Total 



$4, 500 

2, 500 
2,000 

2,000 
1,200 

1,800 

3, 200 
1,200 

900 

1,800 
1,800 
1,500 

3,600 

1,200 

900 

1,400 
1,600 



800 
000 



3, 200 
2,400 
1,000 

1,400 
1,000 
2,220 



32 



48, 120 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 89 
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT. 

The mere statement of this outline reveals to a considerable extent 
the character of the work done in this branch of the service. At the 
head of the service is the general superintendent, who is appointed by 
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, with- 
out term. The compensation of this official is normally $4,000 per 
annum, but a special provision of law fixes the compensation at $4,500 
while the office is held by the present incumbent. The law pro- 
vides that the general superintendent must be a person f amiliar with 
the various means employed in the Life-Saving Service for the sav- 
ing of life and property. 

The law provides that the general superintendent shall have ' ' gen- 
eral charge of the service and of all administrative matters connected 
therewith." More specifically his duties as outlined by the law are 
as follows: 

1. To supervise the organization and government of the employees 
of the service and prepare and revise regulations therefor as may be 
necessary. 

2. To supervise the expenditure of all appropriations made for the 
support and maintenance of the service. 

3. To examine the accounts of disbursements of the district super- 
intendents and to certify the same to the accounting officers of the 
Treasury Department. 

4. To examine the property returns of the keepers of the several 
stations and see that all public property thereto belonging is properly 
accounted for. 

5. To acquaint himself as far as practicable with all means employed 
in foreign countries which may seem advantageously to affect the 
interest of the service and to cause to be properly investigated all 
plans, devices, and inventions for the improvement of life-saving 
apparatus for use at the stations which may appear to be meritorious 
and available. 

6. To exercise supervision over the selection of sites for new sta- 
tions the establishment of which may be authorized by law or for old 
ones the removal of which may be made necessary. 

7. To prepare and submit to the Secretary of the Treasury esti- 
mates for the support of the service. 

8. To collect and compile the statistics of marine disasters. 

9. To submit to the Secretary of the Treasury for transmission to 
Congress an annual report of the expenditures of moneys appropri- 
ated for the maintenance of the Life-Saving Service and of the oper- 
ations of said service during the year. 

10. Upon the occurrence of any shipwreck within the scope of the 
operations of the Life-Saving Service to cause an investigation of all 
the circumstances connected with said disaster and loss of life, to be 
made with a view of ascertaining the cause of the disaster; and 
whether any of the officers or employees of the service has been 
guilty of neglect or misconduct in the premises. 

11. To transfer the apparatus, equipment, and supplies of any one 
life-saving station or house of refuge to another whenever in his 
judgment the interests of the service may require it; and 

12. To employ crews at any of the stations of the Pacific coast 
during such portions of the year as he may deem necessary. 



90 REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It is important to note that neither the general superintendent, nor 
his administrative superior, the Secretary of the Treasury, has authority 
to establish life-saving stations; this is determined by Congress, either 
bv special act or in the general appropriation acts for the maintenance 
oi" the service. Originally this power was largely or wholly placed in 
the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury. Later, however, Congress, 
as stated, adopted the policy of specifying the points at which stations 
should be maintained. 

On the other hand, Congress has provided that the Secretary of the 
Treasury may — 

discontinue any life-saving or lifeboat station or house of refuge whenever in his 
judgment the interests of commerce and humanity no longer require its existence. 
(Act of May 4, 1882, sec. 2.) 

Under authority of law supplementary regulations, approved by 
the Secretary of the Treasury and the President, have been enacted 
for the Life-Saving Service. These provide that the general superin- 
tendent will discharge those functions enumerated by law, as above 
enumerated, in addition to which he is specifically charged with the 
following : 

He will receive and examine all papers pertaining to appointments in the Life- 
Saving Service and refer them to the Secretary of the Treasury, Division of Appoint- 
ments — except those which, as representatives of the Civil Service Commission, the 
general superintendent, district superintendent, and keepers are required to refer 
directly to said commission — with such recommendation and indorsement as may be 
proper or necessary. (Sec. 22, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will determine at what stations and for what periods of time in each year, except 
when such periods are fixed by law, the employment of regular crews is necessary and 
will fix the number of men to constitute each crew. (Sec. 23, Life-Saving Service 
Regulations.) 

He will examine before authorization all requisitions for outfits and supplies, and 
in supervising the expenditure of the appropriations made for the maintenance and 
support of the service will have regard to the strictest economy consistent with its 
proper management. (Sec. 24, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will examine the estimates for funds of the district superintendents, and recom- 
mend the remittance of such amounts as he may find proper, designating the appro- 
priations from which remittance should be made. (Sec. 25, Life-Saving Service 
Regulations.) 

He will examine the accounts of the disbursements of district superintendents, 
and will certify to the accounting officers of the department whether the expendi- 
tures are in accordance with authority. (Sec. 26, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will examine the quarterly reports of the inspecting officers, and take such 
action thereon as may be necessary. (Sec. 27, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will exercise constant vigilance over the official conduct of all the officers and 
employees of the service, and will cause all complaints and alleged derelictions of 
duty which may appear worthy of such notice to be thoroughly and impartially 
investigated, and will direct such further action to be taken in the premises as the 
interests of the service may require. (Sec. 28, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will cause to be properly investigated by the board on life-saving appliances 
all plans, devices, and inventions for the improvement of life-saving apparatus and 
equipments for the stations which may appear to be meritorious and available. (Sec. 
29. Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will exercise supervision over the selection of sites for new stations, the procure- 
ment of titles thereto, the preparation of plans and specifications for the stations, 
the obtaining of proposals for their construction, the making of contracts therefor, 
and the selection, purchase, and testing of their apparatus, equipment, and supplies. 
(Sec. 30, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He will see that the investigations provided for in section 9 of the act of June 18, 
1878, are thoroughly and impartially conducted by competent and disinterested 
persons, and for this purpose he may detail a district officer of one district to any 
r.thpr district or direct any other person who is subject to his official orders, or, if he 
deems it advisable, may request the Secretary to detail some person from some other 
branch of the department to perform this duty. (Sec. 31, Life-Saving Service Regu- 
lations.) 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 91 

He will receive all applications and recommendations for the award of life-saving 
medals authorized by law, together with the evidence in their support, and conduct 
all correspondence relative thereto, except such as shall involve an allowance or 
rejection of the applications. (Sec. 32, Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

He may discharge a surfman upon his own request, provided the reason given by the 
surfman for leaving the service is satisfactory and the request be favorably indorsed 
by the keeper. In case of such discharge the general superintendent will immedi- 
ately advise the Secretary of the Treasury of the action taken. (Sec. 33, Life-Saving 
Service Regulations.) 

He will see that all the requirements of law relating to the Life-Saving Service are 
duly carried into effect and that these regulations are strictly enforced; he will from 
time to time make to the Secretary such recommendations looking to the promotion 
of the welfare of the service as his judgment and experience may suggest. (Sec. 34 r 
Life-Saving Service Regulations.) 

ASSISTANT GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT. 

The organic act makes provision, also, for an assistant general 
superintendent who is appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury 
upon the recommendation of the general superintendent. He assists 
in the work of supervision under direction of the general superin- 
tendent, performing such duties as he may require, and, in the absence 
of the general superintendent, performs the duties of that officer. His 
compensation is $2,500 per annum. 

PRINCIPAL CLERK. 

The "principal" or u chief" clerk was first provided for in the 
appropriation act of June 2, 1879. He is appointed by the Secretary 
ol the Treasury and receives a compensation of $2,000 a year. He 
is charged with general direction of the office routine and supervision 
of the administrative bookkeeping and accounting, the preparation 
of the estimates for appropriations, etc. 

These three officers — the general superintendent, assistant general 
superintendent, and principal clerk — constitute the general adminis- 
trative officers of the service. For the performance of the work to be 
done in the central office nine divisions or groups of employees may 
be distinguished: 

1. Legal. 

2. Statistical. 

3. Construction and repair of life-saving stations. 

4. Authorizations. 

5. Personnel. 

6. Correspondence and files. 

7. Bookkeeping and accounts. 

8. Miscellaneous. 

9. Messengers, assistant messenger, and laborer. 

Legal. — This section is under the charge of a law clerk whose title 
is " Title and contract clerk." He is appointed by the Secretary of 
the Treasury and receives an annual compensation of $2,000. To 
him are assigned the duties which devolve upon a legal adviser of 
the head of such a service. This includes the preparation of contracts 
for the purchase and lease of sites for life-saving stations. Legal 
sanction for such action is found in the act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat., 
372), which authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to acquire by 
donation or purchase in behalf of the United States the right to use 
and occupy sites for life-saving stations. 



92 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The procedure followed in acquiring title to sites and in making 
leases is described in a report to the President's inquiry in re economy 
and efficiency, as follows: 

After a site has been selected a conveyance to the United States from the reputed 
owner is obtained on the approved form printed and prepared for that purpose (Form 
No. 9005, Life-Saving Service). An abstract of the title to the property is also pro- 
cured and the conveyance, together with the abstract and other papers, is referred to 
the Solicitor of the Treasury for examination as to form and execution and for a state- 
ment as to the sufficiency of the title. After the conveyance and title have been 
approved by the Solicitor, the conveyance is accepted by the Secretary on behalf of 
the Government. The conveyance is placed upon the record in the country in which 
the land is situated. 

Leases of property for life-saving purposes are obtained on form 9006. In the case 
of leases, abstracts of title to the property are not usually obtained. Leases are referred 
to the Solicitor of the Treasury for examination as to form and execution, and after 
they have been approved by that officer in these respects, they are also submitted to 
the Assistant Secretary for approval. 

To this section is also assigned the examination of all claims and 
recommendations for the award of life-saving medals, and the con- 
duct of all correspondence relative thereto. The bestowal of these 
medals by the Secretary of the Treasury for saving lives from the 
perils of the sea is authorized under the following laws: Section 7, 
act of June 20, 1874; section 12, act of June 18, 1878; section 9/ act 
of May 4, 1882. 

The legal officer is also charged with the consideration of applica- 
tions for the benefits originating under sections 7 and 8, act of May 4, 
1882 (22 Stat., 57). Disability claims of this character are perfected 
by this section under the regulations of the service before submission 
to the auditor. 

The preparation of all other contracts (i. e., for construction of life- 
saving station buildings and extensive alterations, repairs, or im- 
provements thereof; construction of boats and other life-saving 
apparatus; and schedules for annual supplies) is assigned to this sec- 
tion, which is further charged with the conduct of such special legal 
investigations as may be assigned to it from time to time. 

In the performance of his duties the title and contract clerk is 
assisted by one clerk receiving a salary of $1,200 per annum. 

Statistical. — The general superintendent is directed by the organic 
act "to collect and compile the statistics of marine disasters." The 
statistical section of his office is charged with the duty and the prepa- 
ration of that portion of the annual report which contains this data. 
The following matter is prepared : 

1. Report of the operations of the life-saving establishment. 

2. Statistics of marine casualties collected under the acts of June 
20, 1872, and June 18, 1878. 

This information is gathered from three sources. 

1. Weekly transcripts of station journals. 

These transcripts of the journals or logs kept at the stations give 
an exhibit of the daily routine and the services rendered, if any, 
by the life-saving crew. They also contain a record of all transac- 
tions and occurrences of importance at the stations. After these 
transcripts — prepared by the station keeper — have been inspected by 
the district superintendent, they are forwarded weekly to the central 
office, in which they are examined and compiled by the statistical sec- 
tion. These statistics appear in the annual reports of the service 
under the title "Services of life-saving crew." 



3. Statistics of marine casualties collected under the acts of June 20, 187 y. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 93 

2. Wreck reports from keepers of life-saving stations. 

These reports are made by the station keepers in reporting casualties 
to vessels within the scope of their service. Upon receipt at the central 
office they are classified and examined for omission or errors. If any 
are found, the reports are returned to the station keeper. Whenever 
a fatality is reported in connection with a disaster to a vessel, an 
investigation is conducted by some officer of the service (usually an 
officer of the district in which the loss of life occurred). The in- 
vestigation papers are filed with the wreck report. These papers are 
carefully examined, and if the disaster fell within the scope of service 
operations, a narrative account of it, setting forth in a concise manner 
all the facts and circumstances surrounding it, is prepared for publica- 
tion in the annual report, under the caption " Disasters within the 
field of operations of the Life-Saving Service involving loss of life.'^ 

and May 4, 1882. 

Wreck reports furnished by shipowners, agents, and masters through 
collectors of customs furnish a third source of statistics compiled 
by this section. Newspapers and marine journals which publish 
items of wreck news are subscribed for in order to have the most 
comprehensive data available. An examination of these papers by 
this section furnishes a check on the reports of the customs officer. 

When a sufficient number of these reports of customs officers 
(properly verified and completed) have accumulated, they are 
assembled and classified, first, with respect to the nature of disaster 
(viz, founderings, strandings, collisions, and other causes), and, 
second, by the month in which the disaster occurred. This data is 
annually tabulated and from the tabulations is furnished the data 
which appears in the annual report, under the caption " Tables of 
casualties in the field of fife-saving operations." 

This section also has charge of the annual mailing fist (which in- 
cludes the names of individuals, schools, colleges, libraries, library 
and historic societies, newspapers, commercial concerns, shipowners, 
and maritime organizations), the fifing of miscellaneous corre- 
spondence, and the operation of a mimeograph machine for the sending 
out of circular letters and statistical statements to keepers of life- 
saving stations and other field officers. 

Construction and repair of life-saving stations. — This section consists 
of two officers, designated by statute, respectively, "civil engineer'' 
and "topographer and hydrographer." The compensation of each 
is $1,800 per annum. The report, Form 3, to the President's inquiry 
in re economy and efficiency indicates that there are no lines of 
demarkation between the duties of these two. The building of a new 
station or the repair or improvement of an old one having been deter- 
mined upon and a site selected, the matter is then submitted to this 
section. The technical work of this group embraces the making of 
surveys of the site with compass or transit and tapeline for the pur- 
pose of verifying or providing necessary description; the making of 
topographic and hydrographic examinations and surveys; the prepa- 
ration of all architectural and mechanical designs, plans, and draw- 
ings for stations, together with the specifications and estimates for 
such proposed projects. This section is also called upon to make 
examinations of all structures requiring repairs, additions, or altera- 



94 KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

tions and submit recommendations therefor. Advice is furnished by 
this section on matters relating to construction or apparatus. 

Under a recent order of the Secretary of the Treasury the prepa- 
ration of the plans and specifications for construction work will here- 
after be performed in the office of the Supervising Architect of the 
Treasury. 

Authorizations. — Under this head are grouped four clerks, whose 
duties pertain to the issue of authorizations for miscellaneous supplies 
and for construction and repair work. Of these, three are concerned 
with the purchase of general supplies for stores and preparing author- 
izations for miscellaneous supplies used at the various life-saving 
stations, such as equipment and life-saving apparatus. These con- 
tracts are based, so the Treasury Department committee report, 
January 16, 1911, upon estimates prepared in the New York office 
and revised in the office of the general superintendent. 

This group is also charged with the receipt and examination of 
inspection reports of the superintendents of life-saving districts and 
of assistant inspectors of life-saving stations. 

The fourth clerk attends to work in connection with the issue of 
authorizations for the construction of new stations and repairs and 
improvements to old stations. He also passes upon requisitions for 
draft animals, forage, and fuel. One of the clerks in this section 
attends to the matter of making requisitions on the departments 
for all office supplies, printing, etc. In this capacity he acts directly 
under the principal clerk. 

Personnel. — Two clerks attend to matters connected with the per- 
sonnel of the service. 

One clerk is charged with the administrative work in connection 
with the selection, appointment, continuance, etc., of surf men, 
keepers, and superintendents of life-saving districts, and conducts all 
the correspondence relating to these matters. 

The second clerk is assigned to similar work in connection with 
the employees of the office of the general superintendent and of all 
miscellaneous outside employees. He also has charge of the time 
record, the office pay roll, and the distribution of documents and the 
handling of the miscellaneous correspondence relating to the same. 

Correspondence and files. — Three clerks have charge of general 
correspondence and files. 

The incoming mail is received and opened by the assistant general 
superintendent, who classifies it. It is then indexed by the mailing 
clerk and distributed. The mailing clerk assembles the outgoing 
mail and arranges press and carbon copies for distribution. 

Bookkeeping and accounts. — This section consists of five clerks, 
under the immediate supervision of the principal clerk, and is charged 
with the bookkeeping and accounting work of the service. 

It prepares the annual estimates for appropriations for the main- 
tenance of the service, the establishment of new stations, and the 
salaries of officers and employees in the general superintendent's 
office and allots appropriations. It draws requisitions for funds to 
be placed to the credit of district superintendents in accordance with 
estimates submitted by them. It keeps an authorization blotter in 
which all authorizations of expenditures are entered chronologically. 

This section is further charged with the examination and prepara- 
tion for settlement of all bills covering expenditures for the service. 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 95 

In this work a bill index is maintained. The auditing of the station 
pay rolls, the disbursing clerk's monthly accounts, and the district 
superintendents' quarterly accounts is performed by this section. 

A journal and ledger are used in the bookkeeping. These are in 
charge of the principal bookkeeper. Double-entry accounts are kept 
of the appropriations made to the service; also of the subaccounts 
according to the nature of the expenditure. Similar accounts are 
kept with the disbursing clerk of the Treasury Department and the 
district superintendents. At the end of each year a thorough check 
is made between the books of the general superintendent's office and 
those of the division of bookkeeping and warrants. The bookkeep- 
ing division of this section makes an examination of the district 
superintendents' weekly statements of public funds showing the 
unexpended balance on hand with a designated depository. 

Miscellaneous correspondence with reference to the above subjects 
is conducted within the division. 

Construction and Kepair of Life-Saving Stations. 

An account has been given of the work performed in the central 
office at Washington in respect to the selection of, and requiring of 
title to, sites for stations and the preparation of plans and specifica- 
tions for construction work. Field operations in respect to this 
work are carried on through two offices, one located at New York, 
N. Y., for the Atlantic and Lake coasts, and the other at Portland, 
Oreg., for the Pacific coast. The following statement shows the 
organization of, and personnel attached to, these offices: 



2. Construction and repair of life-saving stations: 

1. Atlantic and Lake coasts (headquarters, New York) — 

1. Superintendent (captain, United States Revenue- 

Cutter Service) 

2. Assistant to superintendents of construction 

(chief clerk) 

3. Clerk (class 2) ; 

4. Assistants to superintendents of construction (at 

$2,000 each) 

5. Assistants to superintendents of construction (at 

$1,800 each) 

6. Assistants to superintendents of construction (at 

$1,500 each) 



2. Pacific coast (headquarters, Portland, Oreg.) — 

1. Superintendent (captain United States Revenue- 

Cutter Service) , 

2. Assistant to Superintendents of construction 

3. Assistant to Superintendents of construction 



Total. 



Salary. 



$2, 000 
1,400 

14, 000 

5,400 

1,500 



24, 300 



2,000 
1,500 



3,500 



27, 800 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 7 



96 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

In respect to these offices, it should be remembered that a section 
of the act of March 3, 1873, still in force, prescribes: 

That all life-saving stations hereafter erected shall be erected under the supervision 
of two captains of the Revenue Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, and to be under his direction. 

Agreeable to this legislation, two captains of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service are now detailed as superintendents of construction. One is 
stationed at Portland, Oreg., the other at New York City. In order 
to comply with the law, the superintendent in New York acts with the 
one stationed at Portland in matters relating to construction work. 

These two officers are assisted by the clerks shown in the statement 
and by assistant superintendents. Of these a few work in the office 
and the greater number in supervision of construction work in the 
field. 

The activities of the offices of superintendents of construction have 
been extended beyond the express provision of the act cited. They 
are now permanently detailed in the foregoing capacity and are 
charged with the supervision not only of the erection of new stations 
but also the making of repairs, additions and improvements, the selec- 
tion, purchase, and the inspection of outfits therefor. 

Superintendence of Construction of Lifeboats, Apparatus, 
etc., New York, N. Y. 

This branch of the work is under the charge of one captain, retired, 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service, who is detailed by Executive order for 
duty with the Life-Saving Service. His headquarters are in New 
York, where he is furnished an office in the customhouse. This 
officer has entire charge of the construction of power lifeboats and 
surfboats, and repairs thereto, and certain other life-saving apparatus 
in connection therewith. Power lifeboats are built under contract 
at Bayonne, N. J., under the personal inspection of this officer, and 
power surfboats are built under contract at Greenport, Long Island, 
under the personal supervision of the assistant superintendent of 
construction, referred to above, and the infrequent periodic inspection 
of the revenue-cutter officer. 

The following statement shows the organization and personnel of 
this office: 





Number. 


Salary. 


3. Superintendence of construction of life boats, apparatus, etc. 
1. Superintendent (retired captain, United States Rev- 
enue-Cutter Service) 


1 
1 
1 
1 




2. Assistant officer in charge 


$2, 220 


3. Clerk (class 1) 


1,200 


4. Repairman ($100 per month) 


1,200 






Total 


4 


4,620 







Construction and Maintenance of Telephone Lines. 

The Life-Saving Service maintains telephonic communication be- 
tween many of its stations. These lines make it easy to concentrate 
the crews of two or more stations at any point where additional force 
is required. This service is under the supervision of a superintendent 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 97 

of telephone lines, with headquarters at Newark, N. J. He is 
assisted by nine linesmen, as shown by the following statement of 
organization and personnel: 





Number. 


Salary. 


4. Construction and maintenance of telephone lines. 

1 Superintendent of telephone lines 


1 
9 


$2, 000 
10, 800 


2 Telephone linesmen ($100 per month each) 




Total 


10 


12, 800 







Storehouse and Inspection of Life-Saving Stations, New 

York, N. Y. 

By what appears to be an anomalous arrangement the operation 
of the general storehouse for the service and the conduct of the work 
of field inspection are intrusted to the same subdivision of the 
service. 

Section 8 of the act of June 18, 1878, provides: 

That the Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or officers of the Revenue- 
Marine Service as may be necessary as inspector and assistant inspectors of stations, 
who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service as may 
be required of them by the general superintendent. 

Pursuant to this legislation one officer is detailed as inspector of 
life-saving stations. Nominally he is the administrative head of the 
branch. Nine other officers of the same service are detailed as 
assistant inspectors. The inspection headquarters are maintained in 
New York City, where the inspector has his office. The inspector 
makes no inspections personally and his direction and supervision of 
the assistant inspectors is but nominal. Reports from the assistant 
inspectors to the general superintendent pass through the inspector's 
office. The field-inspection work is performed by the assistant in- 
spectors, who are permanently assigned to duty in particular districts 
with headquarters in their respective headquarters. These officers 
are given rather wide discretion in the administration of their work. 
For inspection purposes districts 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 8 and 9, and 10 
and 11 are combined. 

Article 47 of the regulations makes provision for a quarterly 
inspection of all stations except those on the Lake coasts, unless it is 
omitted by direction or consent of the general superintendent. No 
inspections are made of the stations on the Great Lakes during the 
first quarters. 

These inspections go to the efficiency of the personnel, condition 
of life-saving apparatus, and general fitness of station and equipment. 

In the thirteenth (Pacific coast) district the positions of inspector 
of life-saving stations and superintendent of construction are 
combined. 

A five-story and basement fireproof building, located at 379, 381, 
and 383 Washington Street, New York City, is leased by the Life- 
Saving Service. Here are located the offices of the superintendents 
of construction of life-saving stations and of the inspector of life- 
saving stations (the latter official being one of the superintendents 
of construction) and the main supply and store house of the service. 



98 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The inspector of life-saving stations is in charge of the supply house. 
The office of the inspector of life-saving stations is concerned almost 
entirely with the handling of stores. 

Supplies for the store are purchased upon directions of the general 
superintendent. The procedure observed in distributing these sup- 
plies to the field force is described in the report on the Life-Saving 
Service by Treasury Department committee (Jan. 16, 1911): 

During the early spring district superintendents make annual requisitions covering 
the estimated needs of life-saving stations for the ensuing fiscal year. Each requisi- 
tion includes detailed needs for all stations within the district. These requisitions 
are forwarded to the general superintendent, and after examination are referred to 
the storehouse for notation as to articles in store. They are then returned to the gen- 
eral superintendent, where action is indicated, the requisitions returned to the store- 
house, supplies assembled from store or purchased and shipped to the respective 
stations. 

The service also maintains minor storehouses at Grand Haven, 
Mich, (for supplying stations on the Great Lakes and one station at 
the falls of the Chicago River), and one at San Francisco, Cal. (for 
stations on the Pacific coast). There is one employee at each of 
these stations. The methods of distributing supplies which prevail 
at the New York storehouse are observed. 

The following statement shows in detail the organization and per- 
sonnel of this branch of the service: 



5. Storehouse and inspection of life-saving stations, New 
York, N. Y: 

1. Inspector of life-saving stations (captain, United 

States Revenue-Cutter Service — detailed) 

2. Assistant inspectors of life-saving stations (officers 

of the Revenue-Cutter Service — detailed) 

3. Storehouse (general) — 

1. Chief clerk 

2\ Assistant to inspector (class 4) 

3. Clerk (class 4) 

4. Clerk (class 3) 

5. Clerk (class 1) 

6. Skilled laborer 

7. Messenger '. 

8. Handler and packer 

9. Handler and packer 

10. Janitor 

11. Watchman 

4. Storehouse — Grand Haven — 

1. Shipping clerk ($125 per month) 

5. Storehouse — San Francisco — 

1. Shipping clerk ($100 per month) 

Total (officers and employees) 



Number. 



23 



Salary. 



9 




1 


$2, 000 


1 


1,800 


1 


1,800 


1 


1,600 


1 


1,200 


1 


1,000 


1 


900 


1 


900 


1 


720 


1 


800 


1 


7?0 


1 


1,500 


1 


1,200 



16, 140 



Board of Life-Saving Appliances. 

The organic act of June 18, 1878, entitled "An act to organize the 
Life-Saving Service, " provides as one of the functions of the general 
superintendent that it shall be his duty to cause to be properly- 
investigated all plans, devices, and inventions for the improvement 
of life-saving apparatus for use at the stations which may appear to 
be meritorious and available. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 99 

Pursuant to this authority, the Secretary of the Treasury, by 
departmental letter of January 3, 1882, constituted a Board of Life- 
Saving Appliances. This board is composed of seven persons 
designated and appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury from mem- 
bers of the Life-Saving Service and other branches of the Government 
service on account of their qualifications for the duties they are to 
perform. Speaking of the purpose and methods of this board, Report 
Form 4, of the Department of the Treasury, to the President's Com- 
mission on Economy and Efficiency, makes the following statement: 

It is the duty of the board to examine, and test if necessary, such plans, devices, 
and inventions as the general superintendent may submit to it, and by their reports 
upon such plans, devices, etc., to aid and advise the general superintendent. When 
plans, devices, etc., are brought to the attention of the general superintendent, the 
persons submitting them are furnished copies of the printed rules and regulations of 
the board, which contain instructions as to procedure. The application, drawings, 
etc., submitted are indexed and receive file numbers, the same as other papers forming 
part of the general files of the office, and are turned over to the clerk, who keeps charge 
of them until, at the request of the general superintendent, the president of the board 
calls a meeting of the members and they are submitted to it for consideration. After 
the adjournment of the meeting, the findings and recommendations of the board upon 
the several devices are reported to the general superintendent, who communicates 
them to the parties who originally submitted the devices. Any further action neces- 
sary in these matters is taken by this office and all the correspondence incident thereto 
is prepared here. The letters calling meetings, authorizing the necessary travel, 
making changes in the personnel of the board, etc., are written in this office (a miscel- 
laneous clerk being in charge thereof). The board meets usually once a year and its 
report, with the exception of the daily record of its proceedings, is printed in the 
annual report of the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service. 

The personnel of the present board consists of four district super- 
intendents of the Life-Saving Service, one assistant inspector, 
Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and 
colonel of the United States Army (retired). Its officers are a presi- 
dent and recorder. 

Life-Saving Districts and Stations. 

The field work of saving life and property in the case of wrecks 
or ships in jeopardy is performed by 270 life-saving stations and 
8 houses of refuge. Each station is in charge of a " keeper," who 
has the assistance of a "No. 1 surfman" and from 5 to 7 "surfmen." 
Each house of refuge is in charge of a "keeper," who has no crew. 

The keeper is usually selected on the joint recommendation of the 
assistant inspector and the district superintendent for his special 
fitness for the position as a man of character, physique, and skill. 
Only surf men in the service are eligible for appointment as keepers 
of life-saving stations. The surf men are selected from registers of 
eligible men furnished by the Civil Service Commission. Keepers 
are required to reside constantly at their station; are intrusted with 
the care and custody of the station property, for which they are 
accountable, and govern the station premises. They are captains 
of their crews, and exercise absolute control over them and lead 
them, and share their perils on all occasions of rescue. They are also 
ex officio inspectors of customs. They are also by law guardians 
of all wrecked property until relieved by the owners or their agents 
or until instructed as to its disposition. 

A daily journal is kept at every station, weekly transcripts of 
which are sent through the district superintendent to the general 
superintendent. After a wreck the keeper makes a detailed report 
thereof. 



100 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

With reference to the routine observed at the station in the saving 
of life and property, a continuous lookout is maintained at such 
stations both by day and night. A beach patrol is conducted during 
hours of darkness and in foggy or thick weather. Two surfmen are 
assigned to each night watch, one of whom proceeds on patrol (in 
the same direction and at the same time) from all stations in the 
district. The other remains at the station on watch until the return 
of the first man, when the latter takes station watch and the former 
commences his patrol in the opposite direction. 

The salary of the keepers of stations is $1,000 per annum, that of 
the keepers of houses of refuge $600 per annum. The No. 1 surf- 
men receive $70 per month, and the other surfmen $65 per month, 
while actually employed. 

The active season on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts is from August 
1 to May 31 (10 months); on the Great Lakes, during the season of 
navigation (April to December) ; on the Pacific coast, the entire 
year. Keepers and crews of life-saving stations are allowed one 
ration or commutation thereof at 30 cents a day. 

Two floating stations are maintained by the Life-Saving Service, 
one at Louisville, Ky., during the entire year, and the other at City 
Point, Boston, Mass., from May to November. 

The methods employed in the saving of life and property are essen- 
tially the same throughout the service. When a vessel is stranded, 
the waters between the wrecks and the shore are either crossed by a 
lifeboat sent out from a station or are spanned by strong lines, by 
means of which a vessel is passed back and forth, conveying the 
imperiled persons to the shore. Signal warnings are given by the 
day and night patrol, thus warning ships of danger and preventing 
wrecks. 

The saving of property is accomplished in various ways, as by get- 
ting vessels afloat when stranded; extricating vessels from dangerous 
situations; pumping them out when leaking; running lines between 
vessels and tugs when it can be done with ordinary boats. By aid of 
telephone and telegraph lines which are connected with the stations 
they give maritime exchanges and underwriters early notice of dis- 
aster, with information as to the condition of vessels, etc., or they 
send directly to the nearest available place for tugs or other needed 
help. 

For purposes of administering and supervising these stations the 
country is divided into 13 districts. At the head of each district is a 
" district superintendent," who, except in the case of the eighth dis- 
trict, is assisted by a clerk. 

The regulations for the government of the Life-Saving Service pre-' 
scribe that district superintendents must be not less than 25 nor more 
than 55 years of age; be able to read and write the English language; 
and be familiar with the line of coast embraced in their districts and 
conversant with the management of surfboats, lifeboats, and life- 
saving apparatus and appliances in general use at life-saving stations. 
They are appointed after competitive examinations, in which the 
keepers participate. The general superintendent selects one of the 
three highest oi those who pass, and such candidate is appointed by 
the Secretary of the Treasury. 

The district superintendents are disbursing officers and paymasters 
for their respective districts and must give bonds. They are also 
ex officio inspectors of customs. They conduct the general business 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 101 



of their districts, look after the needs of the stations, make requisi- 
tion for station supplies, repairs, etc., and upon receipt of authority 
see that they are furnished. They are required to visit the stations 
at least once a quarter to acquaint themselves with their condition 
and on these occasions they pay off the crews and make such other 
disbursements as are authorized. As inspectors of the customs they 
look after the interests of the Government in reference to dutiable 
property wrecked within their jurisdiction and see that the keepers 
of the stations perform their duties in respect thereto. Their salaries, 
fixed by the annual appropriation acts, range from $1,900 to $2,200 
per annum. 

In addition to the personnel above described, the second district 
has one engineer and one helper at the City Point (Mass.), station, 
which is a floating station; the fourth district, a supply boat with a 
pilot; the sixth district, a supply boat with a pilot and an engineer; 
and the seventh district, a supply boat with a pilot, an assistant pilot, 
and a deck hand. 

In respect to the status of these districts and stations, it is of 
importance to note that the number and boundaries of the former, 
and the number and location of the latter are fixed by law. Most of 
the stations have been established from time to time by specific acts 
of Congress. In the outline of organization is given detail informa- 
tion regarding these districts and stations. The following statement 
summarizes information regarding their personnel: 



Salary. 



Life-saving districts and stations. 

1. Superintendents of districts. 

1. Superintendents (at $2,200) 

2. Superintendents (at $2,000) 

3. Superintendent (at $1,900) 

2. Clerks to district superintendents (at $900, maximum, 

each) 

3. Keepers (of life-saving stations and houses of refuge) . . 

4. Surf men. 

1. No. 1 (at $70 per month) 

2. Other surf men (at $65 per month each) 

5. Miscellaneous. 

1. Relief Point Light Station — engineer ($80 per 

month) 

2. Relief Point Steam Launch — City Point ($75 per 

month) 

3. Elizabeth (pilot, $80 per month) 

4. Delmara (vessel). 

1. Pilot ($70 per month) 

2. Engineer ($60 per month) 

5. Carolina (vessel). 

1. Pilot ($75 per month) 

2. Assistant to pilot ($65 per month) 

3. Deck hand ($50 per month) 

6. Jupiter Inlet Life-Saving Station. 

1. Watchman ($50 per month) 

Total 



$22, 000 
4,000 
1,900 



27, 900 



10, 800 
276, 800 

225, 120 
1, 204, 740 



960 

900 
960 

840 
720 

900 

780 
600 

600 



7.260 



1, 745, 360 



102 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Recapitulation of Personnel. 

In the following statement is given a recapitulation showing the 
total number of persons employed in the Life-Saving Service and the 
amount of their compensation. It will be seen from this statement 
that the total number of persons employed is 2,351 and the aggregate 
of their salaries and wages $1,854,840. 





Number of 
employees. 


Salary. 


1 General administration (office at Washington) 


32 
17 
4 
10 
23 
2,265 


$48, 120 
27, 800 


2 Construction and repair of life-saving stations ......... 


3 Superintendence of construction of lifeboats 


4,620 


4 Construction and maintenance of telephone lines 


12, 800 
16, 140 


5 Storehouse and inspection of life-saving stations 


6 Life-saving districts and stations 


1, 745, 360 




Total 


2,351 


1, 854, 840 





246 OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION RELATING TO THE LIFE-SAVING 

SERVICE. 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 
4. Life-Saving /Service. 

1. General administration 

2. Construction and repair of life-saving stations 

3. Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc., 

New York, N. Y 

4. Construction and maintenance of telephone lines 

5. Storehouse and inspection of life-saving stations. New York, 

NY 

6. Board on life-saving appliances 

7. Life-saving districts and stations 



247 
248 

249 
250 

251 

251a 

252 



103 



247 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

1. General administration. 

1. Office proper of general superintendent 

2. Assistant general superintendent 

3. Principal clerk 

1. Legal 

1. Title and contract clerk 

1. Clerk 

2. Statistical , 

1. Clerk (in charge) 

1. Clerks 

3. Construction and repair of life-saving stations. 

1. Civil engineer (in charge) 

1. Topographer and hydrographer 

2. Draftsman 

4. Authorizations 

1. Clerk (in charge) 

1. Clerks 

5. Bookkeeping and accounts 

1. Clerks 

6. Personnel 

1. Clerk 

7. Correspondence and files 

1. Clerks 

8. Miscellaneous 

1. Clerks 

2. Messengers and laborer 



104 



248 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

2. Construction and re-pair of life-saving stations. 

1. Atlantic and Lake coasts, headquarters, New York, N. Y. . . 

1. Superintendent of construction (captain U.S. Reve- 
nue Cutter Service) 

1. Assistant to superintendents of construction, act- 

ing as chief clerk 

2. Assistant to superintendents of construction 

3 . Clerk, class 2 

4. Assistants to superintendents of construction in 

the field (10) 

2. Pacific coast, headquarters, Portland, Oreg 

1. Superintendent of construction (captain U.S. Reve- 
nue Cutter Service) 

1. Assistants to superintendents of construction in 
the field (2) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



105 



549 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

3. Superintendence of construction of lifeboats, apparatus, etc.; 
headquarters, New York, N. Y. 

1. Retired captain U. S. Revenue Cutter Service in charge . 

2. Assistant to officer in charge 

3. Clerk, class 1 

4. Repairman of motor boats (2) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



106 



250 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-'Saving Service. 

4. Construction and maintenance of telephone lines. 

1. Superintendent telephone lines, headquarters, Newark, 

N.J 

2. Telephone linemen 

1 . First and second districts (except the southern islands 

of Massachusetts), headquarters, Quincy, Mass. 

2. Third district, and southern islands of Massachusetts, 

headquarters, Wakefield, R. I 

3. Fourth district, headquarters, Freeport, N. Y 

4. Fifth district, headquarters, Atlantic City, and Lake 

Como,^ N.J 

5. Sixth district, headquarters, Chincoteague Island, Va. 

6. Seventh district, headquarters, Virginia Beach, Va.., 

7. Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth districts, headquarters, 

Green Bay, Wis 

8. Thirteenth district, headquarters, Fruitvale, Cal. 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



107 



251 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

5. Storehouse and inspection of life-saving stations, New York, N. Y. 

1. Inspector of life-saving stations (captain U. S. Revenue 

Cutter Service) 

1. Storehouse 

1. Chief clerk 

2. Clerks, class 4 (2) 

3. Clerk, class 3 

4. Clerk, class 1 

5. Skilled laborer 

6. Assistant messenger 

7 . Handlers and packers (2) 

8. Janitor 

9. Watchman 

2. Inspection 

1. Assistant inspectors of life-saving stations (officers 
of Revenue Cutter Service) 

1. First and second districts, headquarters, 

Boston, Mass 

2. Third and fourth districts, headquarters, 

Patchogue, N. Y 

3. Fifth district, headquarters, Red Bank, N.J. 

4. Sixth district, headquarters, Salisbury, Md. . 

5. Seventh district, Elizabeth City, N. C 

6. Eighth and ninth districts, headquarters, 

Savannah, Ga 

7. Tenth and eleventh districts, headquarters, 

Detroit, Mich 

8. Twelfth district, headquarters, Chicago, 111. . 

9. Thirteenth district, headquarters, Portland, 

Oreg 



108 



251a 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

6. Board on life-saving appliances. 1 

1. President, superintendent United States Coast and Geo- 

detic Survey, Washington, D . C 

2. Recorder, superintendent tenth life-saving district, 

Buffalo, N. Y 

3. Colonel, Ordnance Department, United States Army 

(retired), (not fixed) 

4. Lieutenant, United States Revenue-Cutter Service, Wash- 

ington, D. C 

5. 4 superintendents of life-saving stations (various places). . . 



Refer- 
ence 



Usually meets once a year in Boston, Mass. 



109 



252 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 
4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts and stations. 

1. First district (15 stations), coasts of Maine and New Hamp- 

shire; headquarters, Portsmouth, N. H 

2. Second district (32 stations), coast of Massachusetts; head- 

quarters, Provincetown, Mass 

3. Third district (9 stations), coasts of Rhode Island and 

Fishers Island, N. Y.; headquarters, Wakefield, R. I.. 

4. Fourth district (33 stations), coast of Long Island; head- 

quarters, Bay Shore, N. Y 

5. Fifth district (42 stations), coast of New Jersey; head- 

quarters, Point Pleasant, N.J 

6. Sixth district (19 stations), coast between Delaware and 

Chesapeake Bays ; headquarters, Lewes, Del 

7. Seventh district (34 stations), coast between Chesapeake 

Bay and the northern boundary of South Carolina; 
headquarters, Shawboro, N. C 

8. Eighth district (10 stations), coasts of South Carolina, 

Georgia, and east coast of Florida; headquarters, Jack- 
sonville, Fla 

9. Ninth district (8 stations), gulf coast of United States; 

headquarters, Galveston, Tex 

10. Tenth district (13 stations), Lakes Erie and Ontario and 

a station at Louisville, Ky 

11. Eleventh district (18 stations), Lakes Huron and Superior; 

headquarters, Harbor Beach, Mich 

12. Twelfth district (31 stations), Lake Michigan; head- 

quarters, Grand Haven, Mich 

13. Thirteenth district (20 stations), coasts of California, 

Oregon, Washington, and Alaska; headquarters, San 
Francisco, Cal 

Note : Each district and each station within a district 
has practically the same organization. At the head of 
each district is a district superintendent, who has the 
assistance of one clerk, except the eighth district. 
The personnel of each station, with the exceptions 
noted below, consist of (1) keeper, (2) No. 1 surfman, 
(3) surf men. 

Exceptions to foregoing classification: Second dis- 
trict has 1 engineer and 1 helper at City Point Station ; 
fourth district has 1 pilot on district supply boat; sixth 
district has 1 pilot and 1 engineer on district supply 
boat; seventh district has 1 pilot, 1 assistant pilot, 
and 1 deckhand on district supply boat; eighth dis- 
trict has 1 watchman at Jupiter Inlet Station; eighth 
district has no clerk; eighth district has no keeper and 
crew at Jupiter Inlet; no crews at the eight houses of 
refuge; twelfth district has no crew at Beaver Island 
Station. 



110 



253 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

1. First district, coasts of Maine and New Hampshire; head- 
quarters, Portsmouth, N. H. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk «... 

2. Stations 

1: Quoddy Head, Me., carrying Point Cove 

2. Cross Island, Me., off Machiasport 

3. Great Wass Island, Me., off Jonesport 

4. Cranberry Islands, Me., Little Cranberry Island, 

off Mount Desert 

5. White Head, Me., on southwest end of White Head 

Island 

6. Burnt Island, Me., off mouth of St. Georges River 

7. Damiscove Island, Me., on west shore of Damis- 

cove Harbor 

8. Hunniwells Beach, Me., on west side mouth of 

Kennebec River 

9. Cape Elizabeth, Me., near the lights 

10. Fletchers Neck, Me., Biddeford Pool, Fletchers 

Neck 

11. Portsmouth Harbor, Me., Wood Island, Ports- 

mouth Harbor 

12. Wallis Sands, N. H., If miles south of Odiomes 

Point 

13. Isles of Shoals, Me., on Appledore Island, off 

Portsmouth 

14. Rye Beach, N. H., north end of Rye Beach 

15. Hampton Beach, N. H., 1^ miles north of Great 

Boars Head 



Refer- 
ence 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 8 111 



254 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

2. Second district, coast oj Massachusetts; headquarters, Province- 
town, Mass. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Stations 

1. Salisbury Beach, Mass., § mile south of State 

line 

2. Newburyport, Mass., north end of Plum Island, 

mouth of Merrimac River 

3. Plum Island, Mass., on Plum Island, 2\ miles 

from south end 

4. Straitsmouth, Mass., \ mile west of Straitsmouth 

Light 

5. Gloucester, Mass., Old House cove, westerly side 

of harbor, 1^ miles from town 

6. Nahant, Mass., on the neck, close to Nahant. . . 

7. City Point, Mass., floating station, in Dorchester 

Bay, Boston Harbor . 

1 . Helper 

2. Engineer.... 

8. Point Allerton, Mass., 1 mile west of Point 

Allerton 

9. North Scituate, Mass., 2\ miles south of Minots 

Ledge Light 

10. Fourth Cliff, Mass., south end of Fourth Cliff, 

Scituate 

11. Brant Rock, Mass., on Green Harbor Point. . . . 

12. Gurnet, Mass., A.\ miles northeast of Plymouth.. 

13. Mamomet Point, Mass., 6 \ miles southeast of 

Plymouth 

14. Wood End, Mass. , \ mile east of light 

15. Race Point, Mass., If miles northeast of Race 

Point Light 

16. Peaked Hill Bars, Mass., 2\ miles northeast of 

Provincetown . . . 

17. High Head, Mass., 3 \ miles northwest of Cape 

Cod Light 

18. Highland, Mass., \ mile northwest of Cape Cod 

Light ." 

19. Pamet River, Mass., 3 J miles south of Cape Cod 

Light 

20. Cahoons Hollow, Mass. , 2 \ miles east of Wellfleet. 

21. Nauset, Mass., \\ miles south of Nauset Lights.. 

22. Orleans, Mass., abreast of Ponchet Island 

23. Old Harbor, Mass., \ mile north of Chatham 

Inlet 

24. Chatham, Mass., \\ miles southwest of Chat- 

ham Lights 

25. Monomoy, Mass., 2\ miles north of Monomoy 

Light 

26. Monomoy Point, Mass., f mile southwest of 

Monomoy Light 

27. Coskata, Mass., 2\ miles south of Nantucket 

(Great Point) Light 

28. Surfside, Mass., 2\ miles south of the town of 

Nantucket 



112 



254a 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of the Treasury — Continued. 
4. Assistant Secretary — Continued. 

4. Life-Saving Service — Continued. 

7. Life-saving districts — Continued. 

2. Second district, coast of Massachusetts; headquarters, Province- 
town, Mass. — Continued. 
2. Stations — Continued. 

29. Maddaket, Mass., 6 miles west of Surfside 

30. Muskeget, Mass., near west end of Muskeget 

Island 

31. Gay head, Mass. , near light 

32. Cuttyhunk, Mass., near east end of Cuttyhunk 

Island 



113 



255 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

3. Third district, coasts of Rhode Island and Fishers Island, 
N. Y.; headquarters, Wakefield, B. I. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Stations 

1. Brenton Point, R. I., on Prices Neck, R. I 

2. Narragansett Pier, R. I ., northern part of the town. 

3. Point Judith, R. I., near light 

4. Quonochontaug, R. I., lh miles east of Watch 

Hill light. - . 

5. Watch Hill, R. I., near light 

6. Fishers Island, N. Y., west shore of east harbor. . 

7. Sandy Point, R. I., Block Island, north side, 

near light 

8. New Shoreham, R. I., east side, near landing 

9. Block Island, R. I., Block Island, west side, 

near Dickens Point 



114 



256 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. _ 
7. Life-saving districts. 

4. Fourth district, coast of Long Island; headquarters, Bay 
Shore, N. Y. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Pilot on district supply boat 

2. Stations 

1. Montauk Point, N. Y., at the light (in charge of 

keeper of Ditch Plain station, no crew) 

2. Ditch Plain, N. Y., 3J miles southwest of Mon- 

tauk light 

3. Hither Plain, N. Y., ^ mile southwest of Ford 

Pond 

4. Xapeague, N. Y., abreast of Napeague Harbor. . 

5. Amagansett, N. Y., abreast of the village 

6. Georgica, N. Y. ,1 mile south of village of East 

Hampton 

7. Mecox, N. Y., 2 miles south of the village of 

Bridgehampton 

8. Southampton, N. Y., f mile south of village 

9. Shinnecock, N. Y., 2 miles southeast of Shinne- 

cock light 

10. Tiana, N. Y., 2 miles southwest of Shinnecock 

light 

11. Quoque, N. Y ., f mile south of the village 

12. Potunk, N. Y., LJ miles southwest of Potunk 

village 

13. Moriches, N. Y., 2\ miles southwest of Speonk 

village 

14. Forge River, N. Y., 3 \ miles south of Moriches. . 

15. Smiths Point, N. Y., abreast of the point 

16. Bellport, N. Y., 4 miles south of the village 

17. Blue Point, N. Y., 4^ miles south of Patchogue. . 

18. Lone Hill, N. Y., 8 miles east of Fire Island light. 

19. Point of Woods, N. Y., 4 miles east of Fire Island 

light 

20. Fire Island, N. Y., \ mile west of Fire Island 

light 

21. Oak Island, N. \ ., east end of Oak Island 

22. Giigo, N. Y., west end of Oak Island 

23. Jones Beach, N . Y. , east end of Jones Beach 

24. Zachs Inlet, N. Y., west end of Jones Beach 

25. Short Beach, N. Y., \ mile east of Jones Inlet.. 

26. Point Lookout, N. Y., 2 miles west of New Inlet. 

27. Long Beach, N. Y., near west end of long Beach. 

28. Far Rockaway, N. Y., Station destroyed by 

sudden gale" while being towed across water 
to new site " 

29. Rockaway, N. Y., near village of Rockaway 

30. Rockaway Point, N. Y., west end of Rockaway 

Beach 

31. Coney Island, N. Y., Manhattan Beach (not in 

operation) 1 

32. Eatons Neck, N. Y., east side entrance to Hun- 

tington Bay, Long Island Sound 

33. Rocky Point, N. Y., near Rocky point, Long 

Island Sound, about 4 miles northerly from 
Greenport 



115 



257 





Refer- 
ence 
page. 


Depar 
4. 


tinent of the Treasury. 

Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Serv: 

7. Life-saving d 

5. Fifth dis 

Pleasa' 

1. Dist 

1. 

2. Stat 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 
6. 

7. 

8. 
9. 

10. 
11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 
21. 

22. 
23! 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 

32. 
33. 


ce. 

istricts. 

trict, coast of New Jersey; headquarters, Point 

it, N. J. ^ 

rict superintendent 






Clerk 






ons 






Sandy Hook, N. J., on bay side \ mile south of 
point of Hook 






Spermaceti Cove, N. J., 2\ miles south of Sandy 
Hook light 






Seab right, N. J., about a mile south of Navesink 
light 






Monmouth Beach, N. J., about a mile south of 
Seab right 






Long Branch, N. J., Greens Pond 






Deal, N. J., Asbury Park 






Shark River, N. J., near the mouth of Shark 
River 






Spring Lake, N. J., 2\ miles south of Shark River. 

Squan Beach, N. J., 1 mile southeast of Squan 

Village 






Bayhead, N. J., at the head of Barnegat Bay 

Mantoloking, N. J., 2\ miles south of head of 






Chad wick, N. J., 5 miles south of head of Barne- 
gat Bay 






Toms River, N. J., on the beach abreast the 
mouth of Toms River 






Island Beach., N. J., \\ miles south of Seaside 
Park 






Cedar Creek, N. J., 5-| miles north of Barne- 
gat Inlet „ 






Forked River, N. J., 2 miles north of Barnegat 
Inlet 






Barnegat, N. J., south side of Barnegat Inlet. . 
Loveladies Island, N. J., 2\ miles south of Bar- 
negat Inlet 






Harvey Cedars, N. J., h\ miles south of Barnegat 
Inlet 






Ship Bottom, N. J., midway of Long Beach 

Long Beach, N. J., If miles north of Beach 
Haven 






Bonds, N. J., 2\ miles south of Beach Haven 

Little Egg, N. J., near the light north of inlet. . . 

Little Beach, N. J., south side of Little Egg 

Inlet 






Brigantine, N. J., 5J miles north of Absecon 
light 






South Brigantine, N. J., 3| miles north of 
Absecon light 






Atlantic City, N. J., at Absecon light 






Absecon, N. J., 2f miles south of Absecon lisfht.. 
Great Egg, N. J., 6| miles south of Absecon light. 
Ocean City, N. J., south side of Egg Harbor Inlet 
Pecks Beach, N. J., 3 \ miles north of Corson 
Inlet 






Corson Inlet, N. J., near the inlet, north side. . . 

Sea Isle City, N. J., 3 J miles north of Townsend 

Inlet 





116 



257a 



Department of the Treasury — Continued. 
4. Assistant Secretary — Continued. 

4. Life-Saving Service — Continued. 

7. Life-saving districts — Continued. 

5. Fifth district, coast of New Jersey; headquarters, Point 
Pleasant, N. J. — Continued. 
2. Stations — Continued. 

34. Townsend Inlet, N. J., near the inlet, north side. 

35. Avelon, N. J., 3f miles southwest from Ludlain 

Beach light 

36. Tathams, N. J.. 2\ miles northeast from Hereford 

Inlet light 

37. Hereford Inlet, N. J., near Hereford light 

38. Holly Beach, N. J., 6 miles northeast of Cape 

May City , 

39. Two Mile Beach, N. J., 4 miles northeast of Cape 

May City 

40. Cold Spring, N. J., \ mile east of Cape May City.. 

41. Cape May, N. J., near the light 

42. Bay Shore, N.J. , 2J miles west of Cape May City' 1 . 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



In charge of keeper of Cape May station; no crew. 



117 



258 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 
7. Life-saving stations. 

6. Sixth district, coast between Delaware and Chesapeake Bays; 
headquarters, Lewes, Del. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Pilot on district supply boat 

3. Engineer on district supply boat 

2. Stations 

1. Lewes, Del., 2 miles west of Cape Henlopen light. . 

2. Cape Henlopen, Del., £ mile southerly of Cape 

Henlopen light 

3. Rehoboth Beach, Del., opposite north end of 

Rehoboth Bay 

4. Indian River Inlet, Del., north of inlet 

5. Bethany Beach, Del., 1\ miles north of Fenwick 

i light 

6. Fenwick Island, Del., 1J miles north of light. .. 

7. Isle of Wight, Md., 3 miles south of Fenwick light. 

8. Ocean City, Md., at village 

9. North Beach, Md., 10 miles south of Ocean City. . 

10. Green Run Inlet, Md., 13^ miles northeast of 

Assateague light 

11. Popes Island, Va., 10 miles northeast of Assa- 

teague light 

12. Assateague Beach, Va., 1| miles south of Assa- 

teague light 

13. Wallops Beach, Va., 1^ miles t>outh of Chinco- 

teague light 

14. Metomkin Inlet, Va., on Metomkin Beach, near 

the inlet 

15. Wachapreague, Va , south end of Cedar Island. . . 

16. Parramore Beach, Va., midway of beach 

17. Hog Island, Va., south end of Hog Island 

18. Cobb Island, Va., south end of Cobb Island 

19. Smith Island, Va., at Cape Charles light 



118 



259 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

7. Seventh district, coast between Chesapeake Bay and the north- 
ern boundary of South Carolina; headquarters, Shav:- 
boro, N. C. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Pilot on district supply boat 

3. Assistant pilot on district supply boat 

4. Deck hand on district supply boat 

2. Stations 

1. Cape Henry, Va., f mile southeast of Cape Henry 

light . 

2. Virginia Beach, Va., 5^ miles south of Cape 

Henry light 

3. Dam Neck Mills, Va., 10 miles south of Cape 

Henry light 

4. Little Inland, Va., on beach abreast of North 

Bay 

5. False Cape, Va., on beach abreast of Back Bay.. 

6. "Wash Woods, N. C, on beach abreast of Knotts 

Island . 

7. Penneys Hill, N. C, 5| miles north of Currituck 

Beach light 

8. Currituck Beach, N. C, f mile north of Curri- 

tuck Beach light 

9. Poyners Hill, N. C, 6^ miles south of Currituck 

Beach light 

10. Caffeys Inlet N. C, lOf miles south of Currituck 

Beach light 

11. Paul Gamiels Hill, N. C, 5 miles north of Kitty 

Hawk 

12. Kitty Hawk, N. C, on the beach abreast of 

north end of Kitty Hawk Bay 

13. Kill Devil Hills, N. C, 4J miles south of Kitty 

Hawk 

14. Nags Head, N. C, 9 miles north of Oregon Inlet. . 

15. Bodie Island, N. C, f mile northeast of Bodie 

Island light 

16. Oregon Inlet, N. C, ^mile south of Oregon Inlet. 

17. Pealsland, N. C, 2 miles north of New Inlet 

18. New Inlet, N.C.,£ mile south of New Inlet 

19. Chicamacomico, N. C, 5 miles south of New 

Inlet , 

20 . Gull Shoal , N . C . , 11 f miles south of New Inlet . . , 

21. Little Kinnakeet, N. C, 11^ miles north of Cape 

Hatteras light , 

22. Big Kinnakeet, N. C, 5^ miles north of Cape 

Hatteras light 

23. Cape Hatteras, N. C, 1 mile south of Cape Hat- 

teras light 

24. Creeds Hill, N. C, 4 miles west of Cape Hatteras 

light 

25. Durants, N. C, 3 miles east of Hatteras Inlet... 

26. Hatteras Inlet, N. C, 1^ miles west of Hatteras 

Inlet 

27. Ocracoke, N. C, 3 miles northeast of Ocracoke 

Inlet 

28. Portsmouth, N. C, northeast end of Portsmouth 

Island 



119 



259a 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1. Department of the Treasury — Continued. 
4. Assistant Secretary — Continued. 

4. Life-Saving Service — Continued. 

7. Life-saving districts — Continued. 

7. Seventh district, coast between Chesapeake Bay and the north- 
ern boundary of South Carolina; headquarters, Shaw- 
boro, N. C. — Continued. 
2. Stations— Continued. 

29. Core Bank, N. C, on Core Bank opposite Hunt- 

ing Quarters, about halfway between Ocracoke 
Inlet and Cape Lookout 

30. Cape Lookout, N. C, 1| miles south of Cape 

Lookout light 

31. Fort Macon, N. C, Beaufort entrance, 1^ miles 

north of fort 

32. Bogue Inlet, N. C, inner shore of Bogue Banks, 

\ mile east of inlet 

33. Cape Fear, N. C, on Smiths Island, Cape Fear. 

34. Oak Island, N. C, west side mouth Cape Fear 

River 



120 



260 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. ^ 
7. Life-saving districts. 

8. Eighth district, coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and east 
coast of Florida; headquarters, Jacksonville, Fla. 

1. District superintendent 

2. Stations 

1. Sulli vans Island, S. C, at Moultrie ville, Sullivans 

Island, at north end of harbor jetty 

2. Bulow, Fla., 20 miles south of Matanzas Inlet 

3. Mosquito Lagoon, Fla., on beach outside the 

lagoon 

4. Chester Shoal, Fla., 11 miles north of Cape Cana- 

veral 

5. Bethel Creek, Fla., 16 miles north of Indian River 

Inlet.. 

6. Indian River Inlet, Fla., south side of inlet 

7. Gilberts Bar, St. Lucie Rocks, 2 miles north of 

Gilberts Bar Inlet 

8. Jupiter Inlet, Fla. 1 

9. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 4 miles north of New River 

Inlet 

10. Biscayne Bay, Fla., 6 miles north of Norris Cut. . 

1 Maintains watchman, but neither keeper nor crew. 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



121 



261 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

9. Ninth district, Gulf coast of the United States; headquarters, 
Galveston, Tex. 

1. District superintendent 

1 . Clerk 

2. Stations 

1. Santa Rosa, Fla., Santa Rosa Island, 2 miles east 

of Fort Pickens 

2. Sabine Pass, Tex., west side of pass, south of 

light 

3. Galveston, Tex., on Pelican Spit, west side of 

channel entrance 

4. San Luis, Tex., west end Galveston Island 

5. Velasco, Tex., 2\ miles northeast of mouth of 

Brazos River 

6. Saluria, Tex., northeast end Matagorda Island. . 

7. Aransas, Tex., northeast end Mustang Island . . . 

8. Brazos, Tex., north end Brazos Island, entrance 

to Brazos Santiago 



122 



262 





Refer- 
ence 
page. 


Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

10. Tenth district, Lakes Erie and Ontario and a station at 
Louisville, Ky.; headquarters, Buffalo, N. Y\ 
1. District superintendent. 

1. Clerk 




2. Stations 




1. 


Big Sandy, N. Y., north side mouth of Big Sandy 
Creek, Lake Ontario 




2. 
3. 


Salmon Creek, N. Y. (destroyed by fire) 

Oswego, N. Y., east side entrance of Oswego 
Harbor, Lake Ontario 




. 4. 


Charlotte, N. Y., east side entrance of Charlotte 
Harbor, Lake Ontario 




5. 


Niagara, N. Y., east side entrance of Niagara 
River, Lake Ontario 




6. 


Buffalo, N. Y., south side entrance of Buffalo 
Harbor, Lake Erie 




7. 


Erie, Pa., north side entrance Erie Harbor, 
Lake Erie 




8. 


Ashtabula, Ohio, west side of Ashtabula Harbor, 
Lake Erie 




9. 


Faii-port, Ohio, west side entrance of Fairport 
Harbor, Lake Erie 




10. 


Cleveland, Ohio, west side entrance of Cleve- 
land Harbor, Lake Erie 




11. 


Loraine, Ohio, east side entrance Black River, 
Lake Erie 




12. 


Marblehead, Ohio, Point Marblehead, near 
Quarry Docks, Lake Erie 




13. 


Louisville, Ky., Falls of the Ohio River, Louis- 
ville, Ky 











123 



26:; 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary/ 
4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

11. Eleventh district, Lakes Huron and Superior; headquarters, 
Harbor Beach, Mich. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Stations 

1. Lake View Beach, Mich., 5 miles north of Fort 

Gratiot light 

2. Harbor beach, Mich., inside harbor Beach Har- 

bor, Lake Huron 

3. Pointe aux Barques, Mich., near light, Lake 

Huron 

4. Port Austin, Mich., about 2 miles northeast of 

Port Austin, and about 2 miles southeast of Port 
Austin Reef Light, Lake Huron 

5. Tawas, Mich., near light, Lake Huron 

6. Sturgeon Point, Mich., near light, Lake Huron. 

7. Thunder Bay Island, Mich., west end of Is- 

land, Lake Huron 

8. Middle Island, Mich., north end of Middle Is- 

land, Lake Huron 

9. Hammond, Mich., Hammonds Bay, Lake 

Huron 

10. Bois Blanc, Mich., about Midway east side of 

island, Lake Huron 

11. Vermilion, Mich., 10 miles west of Whitefish 

Point, Lake Superior 

12. Crisps, Mich., 18 miles west of Whitefish Point, 

Lake Superior 

13. Two Lleart River, Mich., near mouth of Two 

Heart River, Lake Superior 

14. Deer Park, Mich., near Mouth of Sucker River, 

Lake Superior 

15. Grand Marais, Mich., west of harbor entrance. . 

16. Marquette, Mich., near light, Lake Superior. . . 

17. Portage, Mich., Old Portage Lake Ship Canal, 

| mile from north end, on east bank 

18. Duluth, Minn., on Minnesota Point, upper 

Duluth 



124 



264 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

12. Twelfth district, Lake Michigan; headquarters, Grand Haven , 
Mich. 

1. District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Shipping clerk 

1. Storehouse 

2. Stations _ 

1. Beaver Island, Mich., near light (no crew em- 

ployed) 

2. Charlevoix, Mich., south side of harbor entrance. 

3. North Manitou Island, Mich., near Pickards 

Wharf 

4. South Manitou Island, Mich., near light, Lake 

Michigan 

5. Sleeping Bear Point, Mich., near Glenhaven, 

Mich 

6. Point Betsie, Mich., near light 

7. Frankfort, Mich., south side entrance of harbor.. 

8. Manistee, Mich., north side entrance of harbor.. 

9. Grande Pointe au Sable, Mich., 1 mile south of 

light , 

10. Ludington, Mich., north side entrance of harbor. 

11. Pentwater, Mich., north side entrance of harbor. 

12. White River, Mich., north side entrance of 

White Lake 

13. Muskegon, Mich., south side entrance of harbor, 

Port Sherman 

14. Grand Haven, Mich., north side entrance of har- 

bor 

15. Holland, Mich., in the harbor, south side 

16. South Haven, Mich., north side entrance of 

harbor 

17. St. Joseph, Mich., in the harbor, north side 

18. Michigan City, Inch, east side entrance of harbor. 

19. South Chicago, 111., north side entrance of Calu- 

met Harbor 

20. Jackson Park, 111., about 7 miles south by east of 

Chicago River lio;ht 

21. Old Chicago, 111., in the harbor 

22. Evanston, 111., on the Northwestern University 

grounds 

23. Kenosha, Wis., in the harbor, on Washington 

Island 

24. Racine, Wis., in the harbor, adjoining light. . . . 

25. Milwaukee, Wis., near entrance of harbor, south 

side 

26. Sheboygan, Wis., entrance to harbor, north side. 

27. Two Rivers, Wis., north side entrance of harbor. 

28. Kewaunee, Wis., north side entrance of harbor. 

29. Sturgeon Bay Canal, Wis., eastern entrance of 

canal, north side 

30. Baileys Harbor, Wis., on easterly side of harbor. 

31. Plum Island, Wis., near northeast point of 

island, 2 miles northwest of Pilot Island light. 



125 



265 



Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

4. Life-Saving Service. 

7. Life-saving districts. 

13. Thirteenth district, coasts of California, Oregon, Washing- 
ton, and Alaska; headquarters, San Francisco, Cal. 

1 . District superintendent 

1. Clerk 

2. Shipping clerk 

1. Storehouse 

2. Stations 

1 . Nome, Alaska, at Nome 

2. Baaddah Point, Wash., opposite south end of 

Waaddah Island, Neah Bay, 7 miles east of 
Cape Flattery light 

3. Grays Harbor, Wash., just south of Grays Harbor 

light 

4. Willapa Bay, Wash., near lighthouse boat landing 

5. Ilwaco Beach, Wash., 13 miles north of Cape 

Disappointment 

6. Cape Disappointment, Wash., Bakers Bay, ^ 

mile northeast of light 

7. Point Adams, Oreg., f mile southeast of Fort 

Stevens 

8. Tillamook Bay, Oreg., north side of entrance of 

Tillamook Bay 

9. Yaquina Bay, Oreg., north side of harbor en- 

trance 

10. L T mpqua River, Oreg., near entrance of river, 

north side 

11. Coos Bay, Oreg., Coos Bay, north side , 

12. Coquille River, Oreg., in "town of Bandon 

13. Humboldt Bay, Cal., near old lighthouse tower 

north side entrance, Humboldt Bay 

14. Arena Cove, Cal., 3 miles southeast from Point 

Arena light , 

15. Point Reyes, Cal., 3^ miles north of light , 

16. Bolinas Bay, Cal. (destroyed by fire) , 

17.. Point Bonita, Cal., near point Bonita light. 

18. Fort Point, Cal., f mile east of light , 

19. Golden Gate, Cal., on beach in Golden Gate 

Park, San Francisco, f mile south Point Lobos 

20. Southside, Cal., 3f miles south of Golden Gate 

Life-Saving Station 



Refer- 
ence 



126 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 127 

COMPILATION OF LAWS RELATING TO THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 

The following compilation is taken from the report on the Life- 
Saving Service made to the Secretary of the Treasury by a special 
committee in 1911. The compilation does not include the provisions 
of law establishing the districts, life-saving stations, and houses of 
refuge. 

[Section 4242, Revised Statutes.] 

The Secretary of the Treasury may establish such stations on the 
coasts of Long Island and New Jersey, for affording aid to shipwrecked 
vessels thereon, and may make such changes in the location of the 
existing stations, and make such repairs and furnish such apparatus 
and supplies, as may, in his judgment, be best adapted to the preser- 
vation of life and property from such shipwrecked vessels. 

[Section 4249, Revised Statutes.] 

* * * Provided, That all life-saving stations hereafter erected 
shall be erected under the supervision of two captains of the Revenue 
Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and to be 
under his direction. 

AN ACT To provide for the establishment of life-saving stations and houses of 
refuge upon the sea and lake coasts of the United States, and to promote the efficiency 
of the Life-Saving Service. 

[Approved June 20, 1874. (18 Stat., 125.)] 

Sec 7. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereb}^ directed to 
cause to be prepared medals of honor, with suitable devices, to be dis- 
tinguished as life-saving medals of the first and second class which 
shall be bestowed upon any persons who shall hereafter endanger 
their own lives in saving or endeavoring to save lives from perils of the 
sea, within the United States, or upon any American vessel: Provided, 
That the medal of the first class shall be confined to cases of extreme 
and heroic daring; and that the medal of the second class shall be 
given in cases not sufficiently distinguished to deserve the medal of 
the first class : Provided also, That no award of either medal shall be 
made to any person until sufficient evidence of his deserving shall have 
been filed with the Secretary of the Treasury and entered upon the 
records of the department. 

Sec 8. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to 
make all necessary regulations for the government of the Life-Saving 
Service not inconsistent with law. 

Sec 9. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to 
dispose of, to the best advantage, after due condemnation by board of 
survey, such articles or materials belonging to the Life-Saving Service 
as may, from long-continued use or other cause, become unserviceable, 
and the proceeds of such sale shall be covered into the Treasury. 

Sec 10. That from and after the first day of July, eighteen hun- 
dred and seventy-four, whenever any vessel of the United States has 
sustained or caused any accident involving the loss of life, the mate- 
rial loss of property, or any serious injury to any person, or has 
received any material damage affecting her seaworthiness or her 
efficiency, the managing owner, agent, or master of such vessel shall 
within five days after the happening of such accident or damage, or as 
soon thereafter as possible, send, by letter to the collector of customs 
of the district wherein such vessel belongs, or of that within which 
such accident or damage occurred, a report thereof, signed by such 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 9 



128 REPORTS OP THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

owner, agent, or master, stating the name and official number (if any) 
of the vessel, the port to which she belongs, the place where she was, 
the nature and probable occasion of the casualty, the number and 
names of those lost, and the estimated amount of loss or damage to the 
vessel's cargo ; and shall furnish, upon the request of either of such 
collectors of customs, such other information concerning the vessel, 
her cargo, and the casualty as may be called for; and if he neglect or 
refuse to comply with the foregoing requirements after a reasonable 
time, he shall incur a penalty of one hundred dollars. 

Sec. 12. That it shall be the duty of the collectors of customs to 
immediately transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury such reports 
and information as they may receive under the provisions of the two 
preceding sections, and they shall also report to the Secretary of the 
Treasury any neglects or refusal on the part of the managing owner, 
agent, or master of any vessel of the United States to comply with the 
requirements thereof. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses for the fiscal year ending 
June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes. 

[Approved July 31, 1876. (19 Stat., 107.)] 

* * * And the person in immediate charge of the Life-Saving 
Service, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasurv, shall 
make a report annually to the Secretary of the Treasury showing the 
manner in which all moneys appropriated for the maintenance of said 
service shall have been expended, and setting forth specifically the 
operations of said service during the year; and said report shall be 
transmitted to Congress with the papers accompanying the annual 
finance report. 

AN ACT To organize the Life-Saving Service. 

[June 18, 1878. (20 Stat., 163.)] 

Sec. 3. That all moneys received from the sale of old stations and 
equipments and other material condemned by a board of survey as 
unserviceable may be expended in rebuilding or improving and 
equipping stations. 

Sec. 6. That the President of the United States may, by and with 
the consent of the Senate, appoint a suitable person, who shall be 
familiar with the various means employed in the Life-Saving Service 
for the saving of life and property from shipwrecked vessels, as 
General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service, who shall, under 
the immediate direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, have general 
charge of the service and of all administrative matters connected 
therewith, and whose compensation shall be at the rate of four thou- 
sand dollars ner annum; and the Secretary of the Treasury is author- 
ized to appoint an assistant to the general superintendent, whose 
compensation shall be two thousand five hundred dollars. 

Sec. 7. That it shall be the duty of the general superintendent to 
supervise the organization and government of the employees of the 
service; to prepare and revise regulations therefor as may be neces- 
sary ; to fix the number and compensation of surf men to be employed 
at the several stations within the provisions of law; to supervise the 
expenditures of all appropriations made for the support and mainte- 
nance of the Life-Saving Service; to examine the accounts of dis- 
bursements of the district superintendents and to certify the same to 
the accounting officers of the Treasury Department; to examine the 



BEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 129 

property returns of the keepers of the several stations, and see that all 
public property thereto belonging is properly accounted for; to 
acquaint himself, as far as practicable, with all means employed in 
foreign countries which may seem to advantageously affect the inter- 
est of the service and to cause to be properly investigated all plans, 
devices, and inventions for the improvement of life-saving apparatus 
for use at the stations, which may appear to be meritorious and avail- 
able; to exercise supervision over the selection of sites for new sta- 
tions the establishment of which may be authorized by law, or for old 
ones the removal of which may be made necessary by the encroach- 
ment of the sea or by other causes; to prepare and submit to the 
Secretary of the Treasury estimates for the support of the service ; to 
collect and compile the statistics of marine disasters contemplated 
by the act of June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four; 
and to submit to the Secretary of the Treasury, for transmission 
to Congress, an annual report of the expenditure of the moneys 
appropriated for the maintenance of the Life-Saving Service, and of 
the operations of said service during the year. 

Sec. 8. That the Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer 
or officers of the Ke venue-Marine Service, as may be necessary, to act 
as inspector and assistant inspectors of stations, who shall perform 
such duties in connection with the conduct of the service as may be 
required of them by the general superintendent. 

Sec. 9. That upon the occurrence of any shipwreck within the 
scope of the operations of the Life-Saving Service, attended with loss 
of life, the general superintendent shall cause an investigation of all 
the circumstances connected with said disaster and loss of life to be 
made, with a view of ascertaining the cause of the disaster; and 
whether any of the officers or employees of the service have been 
guilty of neglect or misconduct in the premises; and any officer or 
clerk in the employment of the Treasury Department who may be 
detailed to conduct such investigation, or to examine into any alleged 
incompetency or misconduct of any of the officers or employees of 
the Life-Saving Service, shall have authority to administer an oath 
to any witness attending to testify or depose in the course of such 
investigation. 

Sec. 12. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized 
to bestow the life-saving medal of the second class upon persons 
making such signal exertions in rescuing and succoring the ship- 
wrecked, and saving persons from drowning, as, in his opinion, shall 
merit such recognition. 

AN ACT To promote the efficiency of the Life-Saving Service, and to encourage the 
saving of life from shipwreck. 

[Approved May 4, 1882. (22 Stat., 55.)] 

Sec. 4. That hereafter all district superintendents of life-saving 
stations shall be disbursing officers and paymasters for their respective 
districts, and shall give such bonds as the Secretary of the Treasury 
may require, and shall have the powers and perform the duties of 
inspectors of customs; and the compensation of the superintendents 
in the districts herein named shall be as follows: * * * 

Sec. 7. That if any keeper or member of a crew of a life-saving or 
lifeboat station shall be so disabled by reason of any wound or 
injury received or disease contracted in the Life-Saving Service in 



130 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the line of duty as to unfit Mm for the performance of duty, such 
disability to be determined in such manner as shall be prescribed in 
the regulations of the service, he shall be continued upon the rolls of 
the service, and entitled to receive his full pay during the con- 
tinuance of such disability, not to exceed the period of one year, 
unless the general superintendent shall recommend, upon a statement 
of facts, the extension of the period through a portion or the whole 
of another year, and said recommendation receive the approval of 
the Secretary of the Treasury as just and reasonable; but in no case 
shall said disabled keeper or member of a crew be continued upon 
the rolls or receive pay for a longer period than two years. 

Sec 9. That the life-saving medals of the first and second class 
authorized by the provisions of the seventh section of the act of 
July twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, shall be hereafter 
designated as the gold and silver life-saving medals respectively, 
and any person who has received or may hereafter receive either of 
said medals under the provisions of said section, or the twelfth 
section of the act of June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
eight, and who shall again perform an act which would entitle him 
to a medal of the same class under said provisions, shall receive, and 
the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to award, in lieu 
of a second medal, a bar, suitably inscribed, of the same metal to 
which said person would be entitled, to be attached to a ribbon of 
such description as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, 
which may be fastened to the medal already bestowed upon said 
person; and for every such additional act an additional bar may 
be added. And the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, 
in his discretion, whenever any person becomes entitled to a bar 
representing a gold medal, to award him, in addition to said bar, 
such token as it is customary to award in acknowledgment of the 
services of masters and crews of foreign vessels in rescuing American 
citizens from shipwreck. 

Sec 10. That the appointment of district superintendents, inspec- 
tors, and keepers and crews of life-saving stations shall be made 
solely with reference to their fitness, and without reference to their 
political or party affiliations. 

* * * And nothing in section four of the act shall be construed 
to prevent the Secretary of the Treasury from detailing one officer of 
the Kevenue-Marine Service for duty in the office of the Life-Saving 
Service * * *. [Approved August 5, 1882. (22 Stat., 229.)] 

* * * And hereafter nothing in section four of the act approved 
August fifth, eighteen hundred and eighty- two, entitled "An act 
making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial 
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-three, and for other purposes," shall 
be construed to prevent the Secretary of the Treasury from detailing 
not exceeding two officers of the Revenue-Marine Service for duty in 
the office of the Life-Saving Service. [Approved February 26, 1889. 
(25 Stat., 719.)1 

AN ACT To amend section five of the act approved June eighteenth, eighteen hun- 
dred and seventy-eight, entitled, "An act to organize the Life-Saving Service." 

[Approved Aug. 3, 1894. (28 Stat., 22$.)] 

Sec 5. That hereafter the life-saving stations upon the Atlantic and 
Gulf coasts at which crews are employed shall be manned and the 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 131 

stations opened for active service on the first day of August in each 
year, and so continued until the first day of June succeeding, and upon 
theLake coasts from the opening to the close of navigation, except such 
stations as in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury are not 
necessary to be manned during the full period specified; and the crews 
shall reside at the stations during said periods: Provided, That all such 
surfmen as serve more than eight months shall receive sixty dollars 
per month during their entire service. 

AN ACT To fix the compensation of district superintendents in the Life-Saving 

Service. 

[Approved June 28, 1902. (32 Stat., 484.)] 

* * * Provided, however, That in case the Secretary of the 
Treasury deems it necessary for any superintendent to employ a clerk, 
he may allow a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars per annum for 
the compensation of such clerk in addition to the salary paid to the 
superintendent. 

AN ACT To increase the efficiency of the personnel of the Life-Saving Service of the 

United States. 

[Approved Mar. 26, 1908. (35 Stat., 46.)] 

Sec 3. That section eight of the act of May fourth, eighteen hun- 
dred and eighty-two, entitled "An act to promote the efficiency of the 
Life-Saving Service and to encourage the saving of life from ship- 
wreck," is hereby amended to read as follows: 

"Sec 8. That if any keeper or member of a crew of a life-saving 
station shall hereafter die by reason of perilous service or any wound 
or injury received or disease contracted in the Life-Saving Service in 
the line of duty, leaving a widow, or a child or children under sixteen 
years of age, or a dependent mother, such widow and child or children 
and dependent mother shall be entitled to receive, in equal portions, 
during a period of two years, under such regulations as the Secretary 
of the Treasury may prescribe, the same amount, payable quarterly 
as far as practicable, that the husband or father or son would be enti- 
tled to receive as pay if he were alive and continued in the service: 
Provided, That if the widow shall remarry at any time during the said 
two years her portion of said amount shall cease to be paid to her from 
date of her remarriage, but shall be added to the amount to be paid to 
the remaining beneficiaries under the provisions of this section, if there 
be any; and if any child shall arrive at the age of sixteen years during 
the said two years, the portion of such child shall cease to be paid to 
such child from the date on which such age shall be attained, but shall 
be added to the amount to be paid to the remaining beneficiaries, if 
there be any." 

REGULATIONS OF THE SERVICE. 

The regulations of the service are published in a volume entitled 
''Revised Regulations for the Government of the Life-Saving Service 
of the United States and the Laws upon which They are Based, 1884." 
These regulations have been amended from time to time, but appar- 
ently not to a sufficient extent to necessitate the printing of a new 
edition. As these documents are readily available. in printed form 
they are not reproduced here. 



132 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES OF THE SERVICE, FISCAL YEAR 1911. 

1. The Washington office: 

Salaries $46, 252. 77 

Rent 5, 136. 00 

Printing and binding 3, 421. 59 

Furniture and equipment 209. 78 

Stationery and incidentals 374. 70 

Traveling expenses 1, 062. 80 



Construction and repair of life-saving stations: 
Headquarters, New York City — 

Superintendent construction 3, 541. 66 

Assistant superintendents of construction 21, 646. 66 

Traveling expenses 4, 210. 08 



Totals overhead 29, 398. 40 

Construction work — 

Rebuilding $119, 115. 51 

New buildings 36, 958. 57 

Protection of stations 3, 169. 32 

Sites for stations 2, 286. 39 



161, 529. 79 



3. Superintendence of the construction of lifeboats, appa- 
ratus, etc.: 

Headquarters, New York City — 

Salaries 3, 420. 00 

Telephones 72. 61 

Traveling expenses 1, 650. 09 



Construction and repair work — 

Repairs to apparatus $14, 845. 48 

New apparatus 116, 358. 46 

Repair motor boats 1, 250. 00 

Plans for lifeboats ' 186. 00 



5, 142. 70 



132, 639. 94 

4. Superintendence of the construction and maintenance of 
telephone lines: 
Headquarters, Newark, N. J. — 

Salary, superintendent 2, 000. 00 

Salary and wages of linemen 11, 839. 50 

Traveling expenses, linemen 2, 468. 28 

Phone rent, Newark 30. 00 



16, 337. 78 
Maintenance and installation of lines 14, 663. 83 



5. Storehouse and inspection of life-saving stations: 
Headquarters, New York City — 

Salaries 14, 000. 00 

Traveling expenses, revenue-cutter officers 4, 334. 62 

Rent, New York offices 8, 000. 00 

Rent, offices Revenue-Cutter Service, assist- 
ant inspectors 395. 00 

Rent, telephones, New York 90. 92 

Rent, telephones, Revenue-Cutter Service, 

assistant inspectors' offices 268. 97 

Incidental expenses, New York 154. 78 

Incidental expenses, assistant inspectors, 

Revenue-Cutter Service 16. 79 

Commutation of quarters and heat and light 

to officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service... 11,257.51 
Travel, medical officers, Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice 112.30 



$56, 457. 64 



190, 928. 1& 



137, 782. 64 



31. 001. 61 



38, 630. 89 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 133 

6. Board of life-saving appliances: 

Traveling expense $734. 67 

Incidental expense 75. 00 

$809. 67 

7. District offices and life-saving stations and houses of 

refuge: 

(a) District offices — 

Salaries $35, 191. 67 

Traveling expense 3,018.09 

Rent 1, 075. 00 

Incidentals 6. 24 

39, 291. 00 

(6) Supply boats — 

Salaries 4, 576. 00 

Rent, wharf 7. 50 

4, 583. 50 

(c) Store depots — 

Grand Haven, Mich. — 

Salaries $1,200.00 

Rent 720.00 

San Francisco, rent 840. 00 

2, 760. 00 

(d) Stations and houses of refuge — 

Salaries of keepers and surfmen 1, 479, 379. 56 

Rations 196, 919. 30 

Salaries, station boats 1, 486. 00 

Books 1,924.88 

Care stations 749. 38 

Draft animals 18, 055. 33 

Equipment 14, 759. 55 

Freight 10,826.69 

Fuel and water 35, 453. 12 

Furniture 7,209.17 

Rent 499. 17 

Subsistence 105. 80 

Supplies 32, 236. 60 

Telephones (rent) 3, 938. 11 

Miscellaneous expenses 940. 48 

Medals 1, 710. 81 

Transportation of apparatus. . . 498. 24 

. 1, 806, 692. 19 

Pensions to disabled keepers and 

surfmen and widows of same 64, 475. 12 

1, 917, 801. 81 

Total expenditures 2, 373, 412. 45 

APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SERVICE, FISCAL YEAR 1912. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial ex- 
penses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hun- 
dred and twelve, and for other purposes. 

Office of Life-Saying Service: General Superintendent of the 
Life-Saving Service, four thousand dollars and five hundred dollars 
additional while the office is held by the present incumbent ; assistant 
general superintendent, two thousand &ve hundred dollars ; principal 
clerk, two thousand dollars; title and contract clerk, two thousand 
dollars; topographer and hydrographer, one thousand eight hundred 
dollars; civil engineer, one thousand eight hundred dollars; drafts- 
man, one thousand five hundred dollars; three clerks of class four; 
five clerks of class three; four clerks of class two; five clerks of class 
one; three clerks, at one thousand dollars each; two clerks, at nine 
hundred dollars each; messenger; assistant messenger; laborer; in all, 
forty-eight thousand one hundred and twenty dollars. 



134 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for 
the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twelve, and for other 
purposes. ' , 

Life-Saving- Service: For salaries of superintendents for the life- 
saving stations, as follows: 

For one superintendent for the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire, 
two thousand two hundred dollars; 

For one superintendent for the coast of Massachusetts, two thou- 
sand two hundred dollars; 

For one superintendent for the coasts of Rhode Island and Fishers 
Island, two thousand dollars; 

For one superintendent for the coast of Long Island, two thousand 
two hundred dollars; 

For one superintendent for the coast of New Jersey, two thousand 
two hundred dollars; 

For one superintendent for the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and 
Virginia, two thousand two hundred dollars; 

&|For one superintendent for the coasts of Virginia and North Caro- 
lina, two thousand two hundred dollars; 

For one superintendent for the life-saving stations and for the 
houses of refuge on the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, 
one thousand nine hundred dollars ; 

For one superintendent for the life-saving and lifeboat stations on 
the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, two thousand dollars; 

For one superintendent for the life-saving and lifeboat stations on 
the coasts of Lakes Ontario and Erie, two thousand two hundred 
dollars ; 

For one superintendent for the life-saving and lifeboat stations on 
the coasts of Lakes Huron and Superior, two thousand two hundred 
dollars ; 

For one superintendent for the life-saving and lifeboat stations on 
the coast of Lake Michigan, two thousand two hundred dollars; 

For one superintendent for the life-saving and lifeboat stations on 
the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, two thou- 
sand two hundred dollars; in all, twenty-seven thousand nine hun- 
dred dollars. 

For salaries of two hundred and ninety keepers of life-saving and 
lifeboat stations and of houses of refuge, two hundred and seventy- 
six thousand eight hundred dollars. 

For pay of crews of surfmen employed at the life-saving and life- 
boat stations, including the old Chicago station, at the rate of seventy 
dollars per month each for the number one surfman in each station, 
and at the rate of sixty-five dollars per month for each of the other 
surfmen during the period of actual employment, and three dollars 
per day for each occasion of service at other times; rations or com- 
mutation thereof for keepers and surfmen; compensation of volun- 
teers at life-saving and lifeboat stations for actual and deserving 
service rendered upon any occasion of disaster or in any effort to 
save persons from drowning, at such rate, not to exceed ten dollars 
for each volunteer, as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine; 
pay of volunteer crews for drill and exercise; compensation of twelve 
clerks to district superintendents, one to each of the district super- 
intendents except that of the eighth district, at such rate as the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury may determine, not to exceed nine hundred 
dollars each, and persons now serving as clerks to district superin- 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 135 

tendents may be promoted to a higher rate of pay within the sum 
named, as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct; fuel for stations 
and houses of refuge; repairs and outfits for same; rebuilding and 
improvement of same, including use of additional land where 
necessary; supplies and provisions for houses of refuge and for ship- 
wrecked persons succored at stations; traveling expenses of officers 
under orders from the Treasury Department; commutation of quar- 
ters and allowance for heat and light for officers of the Kevenue-Cutter 
Service detailed for duty in the Life-Saving Service; for carrying 
out the provisions of sections seven and eight of the act approved 
May fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two ; for draft animals and 
their maintenance; for telephone lines and care of same; and con- 
tingent expenses, including freight, storage, rent, repairs to appa- 
ratus, labor, medals, stationery, newspapers for statistical purposes, 
advertising, and all ■ other necessary expenses not included under 
any other head of life-saving stations on the coasts of the United 
States, two million and thirty-five thousand four hundred and 
twenty dollars. 

For establishing new life-saving stations and lifeboat stations on 
the sea and lake coasts of the United States, authorized by law, to be 
available until expended, twenty thousand dollars. 

Recapitulation. 

Salaries of office force $48, 120 

Salaries of superintendents and keepers 304, 700 

Crews and expenses, including supplies, rent, repairs, etc 2, 035, 420 

New stations 20, 000 

2, 408, 240 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SERVICE. 

1. Annual Reports of the United States Life-Saving Service. Treasury Department. 

2. Revised Regulations for the Government of the Life-Saving Service of the United 

States, and the Laws upon which they are Based. Treasury Department. 
Washington. 1884. 

3. Official Register of the United States Life-Saving Service July 1, 1910, With 

Post Office Addresses. Treasury Department. Washington. 1910. 

4. Organization and Methods of the United States Life-Saving Service. S. I. 

Kimball. 33 pp. Treasury Department. Washington. 1894. (A descrip- 
tion of the organization and methods of the service, with an estimate of its 
effectiveness, by the "father" of the system.) 

5. Manuscript Report on the Life-Saving Service. Treasury Department Commit- 

tee. Washington. 1911. 

1. Report of Committee, January 16, 1911. 

2. Comments on the Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the 

Conduct of Business in the Life-Saving Service, March 25, 1911. 

3. Memorandum of Committee in Reply thereto, April 1, 1911. 

4. Supplementary Letter of General Superintendent of the Life-Saving 

Service, April 14, 1911. 

5. Reply of General Superintendent to Memorandum of Committee, April 

21, 1911. 

6. Report of the Secretary of the Treasury. 34th Cong., 3d sess. Senate Ex. Doc. 

53. Washington. 1857. (Summarizes previous action in regard to Estab- 
lishment of stations and purposes for which expenditure of appropriations has 
been made.) 

7. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury. 42d Cong., 2d sess. Senate Ex. Doc. 

22. Washington. 1872. (Contains report by Capt. Fune on organization, 
duties, and condition of work of the service.) 

8. The Life-Saving Service. 45th Cong., 2d sess. House Rept. 426. Washington. 

1878. (Outlines history; suggests necessary changes and gives arguments in 
their favor.) 

9. Efficiency of the Life-Saving Service. 47th Cong., 1st sess. House Rept. 470. 

Washington. 1882. (Explanation of need and purposes of the bill with 
reasons for his recommendations by the general superintendent.) 



136 KEPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

10. Methods of Business in the Executive Departments. Cockrell Commission. 

50th Cong., 1st sess. Senate Repts., 4 vols. Vol. II. Washington. 1887-88. 
(Covers history, organization, methods of business, and duties of the office.) 

11. The Life-Saving Service. 50th. Cong., 2d sess. Ex. Doc. 48. Washington. 

1889. (Letter from Secretary of Treasury in re relief to whaling and fishing 
vessels in Bering Sea or Arctic Ocean.) 

12. The Life-Saving Service. 52d Cong., 1st sess. House Rept. 508. Washington. 

1892. (Summarizes previous bills for increasing the salaries of employees and 
recommends with reasons present bill.) 

13. Joint Commission to Inquire into Status of the Laws Organizing the Executive 

Departments. Report of Dockery Commission. 53d Cong., 1st sess. House 
Rept. 49. Washington. 1893. (References to laws in re appropriations for 
and creation of service and recommended changes in system of auditing 
accounts of the bureau.) 

14. Claims of W. A. Newell. 55th Cong., 2d sess. Senate Doc. 270. Washington. 

1898. (An argument against the claims of W. A. Newell as originator of system 
by General Superintendent S. I. Kimball.) 

15. District Superintendents, Life-Saving Service. 56th Cong., 2d sess. Senate 

Rept. 1775. (Regarding increase of salaries with final argument by general 
superintendent presented by Mr. Frye, of the Committee on Commerce.) 

16. Compensation of District Superintendents, Life-Saving Service. 57th Cong., 

1st sess. House Rept. 2046. Washington. 1902. (Development and conse- 
quent increased cost of Life-Saving Service.) 

17. Efficiency of the Life-Saving Service. 59th Cong., 1st sess. Senate Rept. 599 

and 808. Washington. 1906. (Recommendation from the Committee on 
Commerce to make service more attractive. Also there is contained a descrip- 
tion of organization, present difficulties, and arguments for and against suggested 
changes by the general superintendent.) 

18. Efficiency of the Personnel of the Life-Saving Service. 60th Cong., 1st sess. 

House Rept. 1112. Washington. 1908. (Contains proposed legislation for 
pension of surfmen dying as result of injury received in the service.) 

19. Message of the President relating to Pensions for Life-Saving Service. 60th 

Cong., 1st sess. Senate Doc. 203. Washington. 1908. (Favoring pensioning 
of Life-Saving Service employees.) 

20. Increasing the Efficiency of the Personnel of the Life-Saving Service. 60th 

Cong., 1st sess. . Senate Rept. 334. Washington. 1908. (Includes argument 
of General Superintendent Kimball favoring increased salaries.) 

21. Personnel of the Life-Saving Service. Hearings before the Committee on Inter- 

state and Foreign Commerce. Washington. 1908. (Statements by officers 
of service on matters of efficiency, remuneration, and requirements in Life- 
Saving Service.) 

22. The Life-Saving Service and the Revenue Marine. The Republic Monthly 

Magazine, Vol. V, 81. Washington. 1875. 

23. The United States Life-Saving Service. O'Connor, W. D. Popular Science 

Monthly, vol. 15, 182. New York. 1879. 

24. The United States Government. Lamphere, C. N. 297 pp. Index. Philadel- 

phia. 1880. 

25. The Life-Saving Service. Cox, S. S. No. Amer. Review, vol. 132, 482. New 

York. 1881. 

26. The American Life-Saving Service. Lamb, M. J. Harper's Magazine, vol. 64, 

357. New York. 1882. 

27. The United States Life-Saving Service. Johnson, W. W. New England Maga- 

zine, N. S. 2, 134. Boston. 1890. 

28. The United States Life-Saving Service. Piper, H. L. Franklin Institute, vol. 

133, 1. Philadelphia. 1892. 

29. Life-Savers of the Pacific Coast. Mathews, Gerald. California Illustrated Maga- 

zine, vol. 4, 62. San Francisco. 1893. 

30. The Life-Saving Service of the United States. Freeman, Thomas J. A. Ameri- 

can Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. XVIII, 650. Philadelphia. 1893. 

31. Life at a Life-Saving Station. Doughty, F. A. Catholic World, vol. 65, 514. 

New York. 1897. 

32. District Superintendents in Life-Saving Service. 60th Cong., 1st sess. Senate 

Doc. 326. Washington. 1908. (Statement of general superintendent in re 
district superintendents and difficulties of their work in defense of their 
retirement.) 

33. Efficiency of the Life-Saving Service. 61st Cong., 2d sess. Senate Rept. 718. 

Washington. 1910. (Contains criticism and recommendations of Secretory of 
Treasury in re creation of a "retired list" and graduated scale of increase in 
salaries.) 



Exhibit No. 4A. 

CONTENTS. 

Page. 

1. History , 137 

2. Functions or activities of the service 139 

3. Organization of the service 139 

1. General administration 140 

1. Commissioner of Lighthouses 140 

2. Deputy commissioner 141 

3. Chief clerk 141 

1. Personnel 141 

2. Contracts 141 

3. Files 141 

4. Division of Accounts 142 

1. Preparation of requisitions for funds 142 

2. Examination of disbursing officers' accounts 142 

3. Preparation of vouchers 142 

4. Recording receipt of reports and returns 143 

5. Preparation of estimates of appropriations 143 

6. Preparation of accounts for direct settlements 143 

2. Engineering construction division 143 

3. Marine engineering division 144 

4. Hydrographic division 144 

5. Personnel of bureau at Washington 145 

6. Field service 145 

1. Districts 146 

1. Inspectors in charge 148 

2. Superintendents 149 

3. Personnel 149 

2. Supply depot 153 

3. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 158 

4. Light stations 159 

4. Outline of organization, Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of 

Lighthouses 160 

5. Compilation of laws relating to the service 254 

6. Regulations of the service 259 

7. Summary of expenditures of the service, fiscal year 1911 260 

8. Appropriations for the service, fiscal year 1912 261 

9. Bibliography of the service 263 

History, Organization, and Activities of the Bureau of 

Lighthouses. 

HISTORY. 

The history of the Lighthouse Service of the United States is almost 
coincident with that of the United States itself. It became an admin- 
istrative unit of the Government by act of Congress approved August 
7, 1789 (1 Stat., 53). This act accepted title to, and joint jurisdiction 
over, the eight lighthouses which had been established and main- 
tained by the maritime colonies and provided: 

That all expenses that shall accrue from and after the fifteenth day of August, 
seventeen hundred and eighty-nine, in the necessary support, maintenance, and 
repairs of all lighthouses, buoys, and public piers erected, placed, or sunk before the 
passing of this act at the entrance of or within any bay, harbor, or port of the United 
States for rendering the navigation thereof safe and easy shall be defrayed out of the 
Treasury of the United States. 

137 



138 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Since that date all jurisdiction over and maintenance of lighthouses 
and aids to navigation for the protection of commerce have been in 
the National Government. 

The control and administrative supervision of this activity was at 
the outset vested in the Secretary of the Treasury. Until 1820 it 
was under either the direct control of the Secretary himself or the 
Commissioner of Revenue, who, from 1792 to 1802, inclusive, and 
again from 1813 to 1820, exercised immediate jurisdiction over this 
service. On July 1, 1820, the duties of superintending and managing 
the lighthouse establishments was assigned to Stephen Pleasanton, 
who was at that time Fifth Auditor of the Treasury Department and 
who, it is said, "had sole charge of the Lighthouse Service of the 
United States for nearly 40 years." He was popularly known as the 
general superintendent of lights. In the course of his administration 
he entered into an agreement with private parties to keep all the 
lighthouses in repair and rilled up with supplies for the maintenance 
of light for five years from January 1, 1833, and again made a similar 
contract for such purchases for five years from January 1, 1838. 

At first the field service of the Lighthouse Establishment had no 
distinctive organization, the collectors of customs acting as local 
superintendents of lights within their customs districts. By act of 
July 7, 1835, however, Congress authorized the division of the light- 
house system into districts. Pursuant to this legislation, in 1838 the 
Atlantic and Lake coasts were divided into districts and a naval 
officer assigned to each. A general inspection of the lighthouse sys- 
tem by naval officers was also provided for by this act. 

In June, 1845, two officers of the Navy, Lieuts. Thornton A. Jenkins 
and Richard Bache, were detailed by the Secretary of the Treasury 
to visit Great Britain and France "to procure information which 
might tend to the improvement of the lighthouse system of the 
United States." 

In May, 1851, pursuant to the act of Congress of March 3, 1851, the 
Secretary of the Treasury appointed a board of officers to investigate 
and make a detailed report as to the condition and needs of the Light- 
house Establishment, to guide legislation in extending and improv- 

in £ [t - .... 

In 1852, as a result of the several investigations previously con- 
ducted, and following the recommendation of the report of this board, 
Congress passed the act of August 31 of that year, which completely 
reorganized the administrative system of the service. This act, fol- 
lowing the systems existing in France, provided for a "Lighthouse 
Board," composed of the Secretary of the Treasury as president, three 
naval officers, three engineer officers of the Army, and two civilians 
of high scientific attainments, that should have the immediate direc- 
tion and control of the service. At the same time two new districts 
were established on the Pacific coast. 

The act of February 14, 1903, creating the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor, transferred the service from the Treasury to that 
department, and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor succeeded to 
the authority vested in the Secretary of the Treasury under the then 
existing legislation. 

This scheme of organization, under which general authority and 
direction was vested in a board instead of in a single-headed bureau, 
formed a marked exception to the prevailing system of organization 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 139 

for the performance of administrative work. In operation it proved 
to be exceedingly cumbersome, expensive, and inefficient. On June 
17, 1910, Congress accordingly passed an act abolishing the board and 
creating the present Bureau of Lighthouses, to have charge of the 
service. This act, which is entitled u An act to authorize additional 
aids to navigation and to provide for a Bureau of Lighthouses in the 
Department of Commerce and Labor, and for other purposes/' con- 
stitutes the organic act under which the service is now operating. 

FUNCTIONS OR ACTIVITIES OF THE SERVICE. 

The duties of the Bureau of Lighthouses are described in general 
terms by the act of June 17, 1910, in the following words: 

The Commissioner of Lighthouses shall, under the direction and control of the Sec- 
retary of Commerce and Labor, have charge and control of the construction, main- 
tenance, repair, illumination, inspection, and superintendence of lighthouse depots, 
supply stations, light and signal stations, lighthouses, light vessels, light marks, post- 
lantern lights, and seamarks and their appendages, and generally of the Lighthouse 
Service; and the charge and custody of all the archives, books, documents, drawings, 
models, returns, apparatus, and other things appertaining to the Lighthouse Estab- 
lishment. 

This service, it should be noted, embraces not only the seacoasts 
and navigable rivers of the United States, but the coasts of Porto 
Rico, Hawaii, Alaska, and the naval stations in Cuba. It does not, 
however, extend to the Philippine Islands, which have their own 
service. 

It will be seen from the foregoing that the Bureau of Lighthouses 
is a strictly unifunctional service — that of maintaining stations, lights, 
buoys, etc., to mark channels, indicate obstructions to navigation, 
and thus assist mariners in the navigation of their vessels. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE SERVICE. 

Attached to this exhibit is given the outline of organization of the 
Bureau of Lighthouses, as set forth in the report of the commission 
on the organization of the Government, July 1, 1911. The purpose 
of this outline is to set forth in detail the manner in which the service 
is organized for the performance of its activities. 

It will be seen from this outline that the primary division from the 
standpoint of organization is that between (1) the bureau proper at 
Washington and (2) the field services or Lighthouse Establishment 
proper. 

Each of these is made up of a number of subdivisions that can be 
clearly distinguished, viz : 

I. Bureau proper at Washington — 

1. General administration. 

2. Engineering construction division. 

3. Marine engineering division. 

4. Hydrographic division. 

II. Field service or Lighthouse Establishment — 

1. District offices. 

2. Supply depots. 

3. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

4. Light stations and other aids. 

5. Reservations. 



140 reports of the commission on economy and efficiency. 

General Administration. 

Under this head are grouped the offices of the commissioner, deputy 
commissioner, chief clerk, and the division of accounts; in other 
words, those offices having to do with general direction and control 
rather than performance of duties of a specialized technical character. 

COMMISSIONER OF LIGHTHOUSES. 

At the head of this branch, and of the service as a whole, is the 
Commissioner of Lighthouses, who, according to the act of June 17, 
1910, shall be appointed by the President and receive a salary of 
$5,000 per annum. This act provides: 

That all duties performed and all powers and authority now possessed or exercised 
by the Lighthouse Board, under any provisions of law not hereby repealed, are hereby 
transferred to and imposed and conferred upon and vested in the Commissioner of 
Lighthouses, under the direction and control of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor. 

That the Commissioner of Lighthouses shall, under the direction and control of the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor, have charge and control of the construction, main- 
tenance, repair, illumination, inspection, and superintendence of lighthouse depots, 
supply stations, light and signal stations, lighthouses, light vessels, lighthouse tenders, 
fog signals, submarine signals, beacons, buoys, day marks, post-lantern lights, and 
seamarks and their appendages, and generally of the Lighthouse Service; and the 
charge and custody of all archives, books, documents, drawings, models, returns, 
apparatus, and other things appertaining to the Lighthouse Establishment. 

That the Commissioner of Lighthouses, subject to the approval of the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor, as soon as practicable, shall rearrange the ocean, gulf, and lake 
coasts and the rivers of the United States, Porto Rico, and the naval station in Cuba 
into not exceeding nineteen lighthouse districts, and a lighthouse inspector shall 
be assigned in charge of each district. The lighthouse inspectors shall each receive 
a salary of two thousand four hundred dollars per annum, except the inspector of 
the third district, whose salary shall be three thousand six hundred dollars per annum. 
The President may, for a period not exceeding three years from the taking effect 
of this section, assign Army and Navy officers to act in lieu of the appointment of 
civilian lighthouse inspectors, but such Army and Navy officers shall not receive 
any salary or compensation in addition to the salary or compensation they are entitled 
to as such Army or Navy officers: Provided, That in the districts which include the 
Mississippi River and its tributaries the President may designate Army engineers to 
perform the duties of and act as inspectors. The President may detail officers of the 
Engineer Corps of the United States Army for consultation or to superintend the 
construction or repair of any aid to navigation authorized by Congress. 

That the commissioner, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor, is authorized, whenever an appropriation is made by Congress for a new light- 
house, the proper site for which does not belong to the United States, to purchase the 
necessary land for such site : Provided, That the purchase money be paid from the amount 
appropriated for such lighthouse without exceeding the limit of cost, if any, fixed 
in such case ; and the commissioner of lighthouses is authorized to employ temporarily 
draftsmen for the preparation of plans for tenders and light vessels which may be 
authorized by Congress, to be paid from the respective appropriations therefor. 

That all materials for construction, maintenance, repair, and operation shall be pro- 
cured by public contracts, under such regulations as may from time to time be pre- 
scribed by the commissioner, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce 
and Labor, and no contracts shall be made except after public advertisement for 
proposals in such form and manner as to secure general notice thereof, and the same 
shall only be made with the lowest and best bidder therefor, upon security deemed 
sufficient in the judgment of the Commissioner of Lighthouses, but all bids may_ at any 
time be rejected by the commissioner: Provided, however, That the Commissioner of 
Lighthouses may purchase illuminating oil, wicks, and chimneys for lights, and ground 
tackle for light vessels and buoys, and to an amount not exceeding five hundred 
dollars at any one time, other materials and supplies when immediate delivery is 
required by an exigency, by private contract or in the open market, if he deems it 
for the best interests of the service so to do; but such purchases shall be set forth in 
the annual report of the commissioner with the reasons for purchasing other than 
upon bids after public advertisement. 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 141 

That the Commissioner of Lighthouses, under the direction and control of the Secre- 
tary of Commerce and Labor, shall, from time to time, prescribe and distribute such 
regulations as he may deem proper for securing an efficient, uniform, and economic 
administration of the Lighthouse Service. 

Such commissioner, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 
is hereby authorized to consider, ascertain, adjust, and determine all claims for dam- 
ages, where the amount of the claim does not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars, 
hereafter occasioned by collisions, for which collisions vessels of the Lighthouse Service 
shall be found to be responsible, and report the amounts so ascertained and deter- 
mined to be due the claimants to Congress at each session thereof through the Treasury 
Department for payment as legal claims out of appropriations that may be made by 
Congress therefor. 

The Commissioner of Lighthouses shall make an annual report to the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor, who shall transmit the same to Congress at the beginning of 
each regular session thereof. 

DEPUTY COMMISSIONER. 

The organic act of 1910 makes provision for a deputy commissioner, 
with a salary of $4,000 per annum, appointed by the President, and 
a chief clerk. No provision is made by the act regarding the appoint- 
ment or compensation of this latter officer. He is accordingly 
appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and his com- 
pensation, as fixed by the appropriation act, is $2,400 per annum. 

The deputy commissioner is in charge of personnel and floating 
equipment. He is charged with such other duties pertaining to the 
supervision and administration of the service as the commissioner 
may assign. He acts as commissioner in the absence of that officer. 

CHIEF CLERK. 

The chief clerk is, by the organic act, intrusted with the duties 
"of chief clerk and such other duties as may be assigned to him by 
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, or by the commissioner.' ' 
In practice he has immediate charge of matters having to do with per- 
sonnel, contracts, and files. 

To the subdivision of personnel is assigned the general corre- 
spondence relating to the personnel of the bureau and the Lighthouse 
Service at large. It has charge of all records and keepers relative 
thereto ; it furnishes to the department (of Commerce and Labor) a 
monthly report of absence (this date being obtained from daily 
itemized leave cards kept in this section) and makes a monthly report 
to the Civil Service Commission (through the department) of the 
changes in the personnel. 

Data cards are kept by this section of each authorized position in 
the Lighthouse Service. 

To this office are submitted monthly reports by district officers 
covering the employment by them of nonappointed temporary 
employees (as provided by law), and when all the districts have 
reported these (prepared in duplicate) are sent to the department, 
where the duplicate is filed, the original being forwarded to the Civil 
Service Commission. 

This section prepares the pay roll for employees of the bureau. It 
also handles other miscellaneous or routine work relating to personnel. 

The contract subdivision handles all the correspondence relating 
to contracts, claims, acquisition, sale, or leasing of real estate, etc.; 
it prepares authorizations of expenditure in the Lighthouse Service 



142 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

for typewriters, and for other purposes where the amount exceeds 
$500; it considers bids and proposals for supplies and materials for 
the outside service before they are submitted to the department for 
action; it maintains a record of all the district officers and the suc- 
cessful bidders (and approved by this section without administrative 
examination), and a record of all deeds (after their execution, 
delivery, and examination by the Attorney General) to sites obtained 
for the Lighthouse Service either by purchase or condemnation 
proceedings. Duplicates of requisitions from district officers for 
supplies from the general lighthouse depot are kept on file in this 
office, the originals being forwarded by this section to the depot. 

This section is under the charge of a title and contract clerk (who 
is temporarily engaged in a study of the system of cost accounting 
with reference to its application to the Lighthouse Service). 

To the files subdivision is assigned the work, largely of a routine 
character, which usually devolves upon such a group. This work 
consists of numbering and indexing the incoming and outgoing cor- 
respondence, of mailing the latter, filing numbered correspondence, 
and making record of all correspondence not indexed or filed. 

A record here is kept of each request made b}^ the bureau for 
information, and the chief clerk is notified when the specified limit 
for reply expires. Records and information are furnished by the sec- 
tion upon requests. 

In the office of the chief clerk is also opened all incoming mail. That 
portion relating to personnel is sent to the personnel branch. The rest 
is sent to the files branch, where it is entered, after which it is returned 
to the chief clerk for distribution. In this office all correspondence 
is read and reviewed before being submitted to the commissioner (or 
acting commissioner) for his signature. This section passes upon 
the requisitions from the district officers for office supplies to deter- 
mine their reasonableness, and is charged with the distribution of 
publications. 

Immediately under the chief clerk are the stenographic and mes- 
senger forces of the bureau. 

DIVISION OF ACCOUNTS. 

The matter of accounts is handled by a special division constituting 
one of the divisions of general administration. The work performed 
by this division may be classified under the following heads : 

(a) Preparation of requisitions for funds . — -The preparation of requi- 
sitions on the Secretary of the Treasury for funds for the 19 disbursing 
officers in the Lighthouse Service are based upon estimates furnished 
by the disbursing officers which are examined in this division. 

(b) Examination of disbursing officers 7 accounts. — The administra- 
tive examination of the accounts of the 19 disbursing officers of the 
Lighthouse Service are forwarded to this office within 20 days after 
the close of each quarter, and the examination required under sec- 
tion 22 of the act of July 31, 1894, is had. 

(c) Preparation of vouchers. — This consists in the preparation of 
most of the vouchers, and in the certification of all the vouchers, paid 
by the disbursing clerk of the department for the office of the Bureau 
of Lighthouses in Washington. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 143 

(d) Recording receipt of reports and returns. — This consists in keep- 
ing an administrative check on the report and returns which are 
required to be sent to the Bureau of Lighthouses from the 19 district 
offices at stated times in the year. It also checks the balance of 
funds (reported by the Treasury) to the credit of each disbursing officer 
with the balances reported to the bureau by the respective disburs- 
ing officers. 

(e) Preparation of estimates of appropriations. — These are arranged 
in three groups: 

(1) Salaries of employees in the office of the Bureau of the Light- 
house Service. 

(2) Appropriations for general 'maintenance of the Lighthouse 
Service. 

(3) Appropriation for special work. 

(f) Preparation of accounts for direct settlement. — -Accounts for (1) 
services rendered by other departments of the Government, for (2) 
transportation furnished through the Quartermaster's Department 
of the Army, and (3) miscellaneous accounts, are rendered periodically 
and receive the requisite administrative examination in this office. 

This division, at the beginning of each fiscal year, makes an allot- 
ment of the funds appropriated by Congress for the maintenance of 
each lighthouse district; it makes all authorizations of expenditures 
in the Lighthouse Service, where the amount exceeds $75 and is not 
in excess of $500 (except in the case of the purchase of typewriters), 
and conducts the correspondence relating to appropriations, accounts, 
and financial matters. 

An accountant is at the head of this division and directs the work 
of the clerks. 

Engineering Construction Division. 

This division is presided over by the chief consulting engineer, an 
officer provided for by the organic act. He receives a compensation 
of $4,000 per annum and is appointed by the President. This 
division has general charge of the preparation of plans and specifi- 
cations for and the construction of structures on land. More specifi- 
cally its duties comprehend: 

1 . The examination of the plats and title papers of sites and reser- 
vations (to be purchased) and the comparison of the former with the 
description. 

2. The examination of the preliminary plans, specifications, and 
estimates for lighthouses, towers, dwellings, fog-signal buildings, 
wharves, illuminating apparatus, and accessories, and fog-signal 
machinery, and the preparation thereof when they can not be pre- 
pared by the inspectors. 

3. The examination of bids to determine that the one accepted is 
reasonable. 

4. This division, when requested by the district inspectors, also 
examines the work in the shops and tests the materials and inspects 
the workmanship. It is also charged with the examination of all 
illuminating machinery and apparatus, as supplied by the general 
lighthouse depot, in order to see that it is properly designed; with the 
consideration of, and report on, all questions relating to regulations 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 10 



144 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

for lighting bridges over navigable waters; and with questions relating 
to the construction, repair, or improvement of fixed aids to navigation. 
The division maintains its own files (in which are kept the draw- 
ings, specifications, estimates, actual costs, descriptions of light 
stations, contracts of work, photographs of plats, etc.) and handles 
miscellaneous correspondence pertaining to the foregoing subjects. 

Marine Engineering Division. 

This division, constituting a part of the bureau proper at Wash- 
ington, has general charge of matters involving marine engineering 
and the construction and repair 'of the vessels of the service. It is 
directed by the superintendent of naval construction, an officer pro- 
vided for by the organic act, who is appointed by the President, and 
receives a compensation of $3,000 per annum. 

This division is charged with the following duties: 

(1) Preparation of designs of new tenders and light vessels. Plans 
and specifications concerning the construction of the entire vessel 
are prepared, under the direction of the superintendent of naval con- 
struction, by a superintendent of construction temporarily detailed 
for such work and by draftsmen whose employment is authorized 
by the act in which the appropriation is made and whose employ- 
ment ceases upon their completion. 

(2) Inspection of vessels during construction. A superintendent 
of construction is detailed— after approval of the contract by the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor — to the works of the contractor 
to direct the preparation of detailed plans and to inspect the work 
in progress. 

(3) Review and approval of plans submitted by contractors (be- 
fore commencing work) showing detail of construction. 

(4) Inspection of material for new vessels and repairs to old 
vessels. 

(5) Survey of tenders and light vessels prior to the execution of 
any extensive or costly repairs which may be demanded by the dis- 
trict officer. A board is appointed to investigate the condition of 
the vessel and report. 

This division is also charged with the examination and filing of 
inventories submitted by masters and engineers of vessels, reports of 
periodical inspection of light vessels, and quarterly reports of inspec- 
tion of lighthouse tenders by district officers. 

Correspondence relating to the foregoing subjects is handled by 
the division. 

Hydrographic Division. 

The duties of this division are reported to the commission (Form 4 
of the President's Inquiry in Re Economy and Efficiency) to be as 
follows : 

There are submitted to this division, for examination and report, questions con- 
cerning the establishment, changes in or discontinuance of aids to navigation, so far 
as these affect primarily the requirements of navigation . 

These questions involve the location and characteristics of aids and in the cases of 
lights, height, geographic and luminous ranges, their characteristics to avoid con- 
fusion with other lights within distances which vary with the function of the aid, etc., 
the optical or other devices required to produce the characteristic. In the cases of 
fog signals the characteristics must be determined, as in the cases of lights, with 
reference to neighboring signals and also with reference to the ability of a given 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 145 

engine to furnish the compressed air, etc., necessary to the sounding of a distinctive 
characteristic. 

Generally recommendations for new aids or changes in existing aids originate 
with the district inspector because of his local knowledge of requirements. When 
these originate in this office or are presented by the maritime interests affected, they 
are forwarded to the district officer for report and recommendation before final action 
it taken here. 

This division is also in charge of the editing of the matter relating 
to aids to navigation and the preparation of copy for publication in 
the Notices to Mariners. It is assigned the work of correcting and 
revising the lists of lights, buoys 7 and day marks in the several dis- 
tricts and their preparation for publication. 

Applications for the establishment of private aids are considered 
by the division. They are checked in a manner similar to that fol- 
lowed with reference to aids of the service. 

Miscellaneous correspondence relating to the foregoing subjects is 
handled within the division. 

Personnel of Bureau at Washington. 

For the performance of the work of these various divisions consti- 
tuting the bureau proper at Washington Congress has made provi- 
sion for the following personnel (legislative, executive, and judicial 
appropriation act for fiscal year 1912) : 

Salary. 

1 Commissioner of Lighthouses $5, 000 

1 deputy commissioner 4, 000 

1 chief clerk 2, 400 

1 chief constructing engineer 4, 000 

1 superintendent of naval construction 3, 000 

1 clerk 2. 000 

2 clerks, at $1,800 each 3, 600 

1 clerk 1, 600 

2 clerks, at $1,400 each 2, 800 

6 clerks, at $1,200 each 7, 200 

5 clerks, at $1,000 each 5, 000 

7 clerks, at $900 each 6, 300 

1 clerk 840 

1 clerk 720 

1 messenger 840 

1 assistant messenger 720 

2 messenger boys, at $400 each 960 

1 assistant engineer 3, 000 

1 assistant engineer 2, 400 

1 assistant engineer 2, 250 

1 draftsman 1, 800 

1 draftsman 1, 560 

1 draftsman 1, 440 

1 draftsman 1, 200 

Total (42) 64, 630 

Field Service. 

In the foregoing has been given an account of the branches of 
administration that have to be maintained in order that the work for 
which the bureau has been created may be performed. This work, 
which is performed by the field service, consists in the maintenance 
of a large variety of what are collectively known as " aids to naviga- 
tion." These aids may be classified as follows: 

1. Light stations proper: These consist of lighthouses or stations 
on land maintaining a light that are in charge of a keeper residing at 



146 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the station. In some cases the keeper is the only employee at the 
station; in others, he has from one to three assistants. Aconsiderable 
number of the stations are also fog-signal stations. 

2. Light vessels: These perform much the same function as the 
light stations. Though moored while serving as light stations, they 
are capable of locomotion, many of them under their own steam or 
sail powers, and are provided with an adequate crew. 

3. Attended lights: These consist of lights, but 'differ from light 
stations proper in that they are not maintained at stations at which 
keepers reside. They are "attended" since persons are required to 
attend to their lighting and general maintenance. 

4. Unattended lights: These are lights not requiring persons to 
attend to their lighting. 

5. Buoys, day marks, and other aids to navigation: These include 
the various divers employed to mark channels, obstructions to navi- 
gation, etc. 

The number and location of lighthouses or stations, light vessels, 
and lights are in general specifically provided for by Congress. The 
Commissioner of Lighthouses, under the direction of the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor, has authority, however, within the limita- 
tion of appropriations available, to establish and discontinue buoys 
and other minor aids to navigation. 

DISTRICTS. 

For purposes of administration the organic act provided "that the 
Commissioner of Lighthouses, subject to the approval of the Secre- 
tary of Commerce and Labor, shall rearrange the ocean, gulf, and 
lake coasts and the rivers of the United States, Porto Rico, and the 
naval station in Cuba into not exceeding 19 lighthouse districts." 
It will be noted that this law fixes the maximum number of districts 
that may be created, thus leaving it to the discretion of the Com- 
missioner of Lighthouses, subject to the approval of the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor, to provide for a smaller number of districts if 
he believes such action in the interests of the public service. In the 
exercise of his discretion, the maximum number has been established. 
Their number, designation, headquarters, and boundaries are as 
follows : 

First district: From the head of navigation on the St. Croix River, 
Me., the northeastern boundary of the United States, to and includ- 
ing Hampton Harbor, N. H. Headquarters, Portland, Me. 

Second district: From Hampton Harbor, N. H., to Elisha Ledge, 
off Warren Point, R. I., but not including either the harbors or the 
ledge. Headquarters, Boston, Mass. 

Third district: From Elisha Ledge, off Warren Point, R. I., to 
Cape May, on the coast of New Jersey, excepting Cape May Light- 
house, and to a point on the coast opposite Rehoboth, Del., excepting 
Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and Hen and Chickens Shoal. Head- 
quarters, Tompkins ville, N. Y. 

Fourth district: From Cape May, including Cape May Lighthouse 
on the coast of New Jersey, to a point on the coast of Delaware oppo- 
site Rehoboth, including Hen and Chickens Shoal. Headquarters, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 

Fifth district : From a point on the coast of Delaware opposite 
Rehoboth to and including New River Inlet, N. C. Headquarters, 
Baltimore, Md. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 147 

Sixth district: From (but does not include) New River Inlet, N. C. 
to and including Hillsboro Inlet Light Station, Fla. Headquarters. 
Charleston, S. C. 

Seventh district: From a point just south of Hillsboro Inlet Light 
Station to and including Cedar Keys, Fla. Headquarters, Key West, 
Fla. 

Eighth district: From (but not including) Cedar Keys, Fla., to the 
southern boundary of Texas. Headquarters, New Orleans, La. 

Ninth district: The island of Porto Rico and the adjacent islands 
and other islands and stations ceded to the United States in the West 
Indies. Headquarters, San Juan, P. R. 

Tenth district: From the mouth of the St. Regis River, St. Law- 
rence River, N. Y., to the mouth of the Detroit River. Headquar- 
ters, Buffalo, N. Y. 

Eleventh district : From and including all aids to navigation at the 
mouth of the Detroit River, Mich., to the western end of Lake Su- 
perior. It embraces all aids to navigation on the United States shores 
and waters of Lakes St. Clair, Huron, and Superior, the Detroit River, 
including the mouth, the St. Clair and St. Marys Rivers, and that 
part of the Straits of Mackinac lying to the eastward of a line drawn 
across the straits just to the eastward of Old Mackinac Point Light 
Station, Mich. Headquarters, Detroit, Mich. 

Twelfth district: Includes all aids to navigation on Lake Michigan. 
Green Bay, and tributary waters lying west of a line drawn across the 
Straits of Mackinac just east of Old Mackinac Point Light Station, 
Michigan. Headquarters, Chicago, 111. 

Thirteenth district. The Mississippi River from the head of naviga- 
tion to the mouth of the Missouri River; the Minnesota River from 
the head of navigation to its mouth; the Illinois River from the head 
of navigation to its mouth; the Osage River from the head of navi- 
gation to its mouth ; the Gasconado River from the head of navigation 
to its mouth; the Missouri River from the head of navigation to its 
mouth: and includes all aids to navigation within these limits and 
navigable rivers tributary thereto. Headquarters, Rock Island, 111. 

Fourteenth district: The Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Cairo, 
111.; the Tennessee River from the head of navigation to its mouth; 
the Kanawha River from the head of navigation to its mouth; and 
embraces all aids to navigation within these limits and navigable rivers 
tributary thereto. Headquarters, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Fifteenth district: The Mississippi River from and including the 
mouth of the Missouri River to New Orleans, La. ; the Red River from 
the head of navigation to its mouth; and includes all aids to naviga- 
tion within these limits and navigable rivers tributary thereto. 
Headquarters, St. Louis, Mo. 

Sixteenth district: From the boundary between Alaska and the 
Dominion of Canada to the boundary between Alaska and Siberia. 
It embraces all aids to navigation on the seacoast, bays, rivers, and 
other tidal waters of Alaska. Headquarters, Ketchikan, Alaska. 

Seventeenth district: From the boundary between California and 
Oregon to the northern boundary of the United States. It embraces 
all aids to navigation on the seacoast of Oregon and Washington, on 
the United States waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington 
Sound, and the Strait of Georgia, and on the tidal waters tributary to 
the sea, straits, and sounds between the limits named. Headquarters, 
Portland, Oreo-. 



148 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Eighteenth district: From the boundary between California and 
Mexico to the boundary between California and Oregon. It embraces 
all aids to navigation on the seacoast, bays, rivers, and other tidal 
waters of California. Headquarters, San Francisco, Cal. 

Nineteenth district: Embraces Hawaiian Islands, the Midway 
Islands, the Island of Guam, and the American Samoan Islands, and 
includes all aids to navigation in the waters thereof. Headquarters, 
Honolulu, Hawaii. 

For the administration of these districts the act of 1910 provides 
that ' ' a lighthouse inspector shall be assigned in charge of each dis- 
trict. The lighthouse inspectors shall each receive a salary of $2,400 
per annum, except the inspector of the third district, whose salary 
shall be $3,600 per annum." They are appointed by the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor. 

A characteristic feature of the old system of administering the 
service through a Lighthouse Board was the use of the services of 
officers of the Army and Navy. The board itself, according to the 
law, was composed of two officers of the Army, two officers of the 
Navy, and two civilians, with the Secretary of Commerce as president 
and an officer of the Navy and an officer of Engineers of the Army as 
secretaries. The law further provided that an officer of the Army or 
Navy should be assigned to each district as lighthouse inspector, sub- 
ject to the orders of the Lighthouse Board, and that officers of the 
Engineer Corps of the Army should be detailed by the President to 
superintend the construction and renovation of lighthouses. 

One of the important ends sought by the reorganization effected 
in 1910 was the elimination, as far as practicable, of Army and Navy 
officers from the service and the establishment of the latter upon a 
purely civil basis. Though this was the end in view, it was thought 
that it would be unwise to make a complete change at once. The 
act of 1910 accordingly provided that: 

The President may, for a period not exceeding three years from the taking effect of 
this section [July 1, 1910] assign Army and Navy officers to act in lieu of the appoint- 
ment of civilian lighthouse inspectors, but such Army and Navy officers shall not re- 
ceive any salary or compensation in addition to the salary or compensation they are 
entitled to as such Army or Navy officers : Provided, That in the districts which include 
the Mississippi River and its tributaries the President may designate Army engineers 
to perform the duties of and act as inspectors. The President may detail officers of 
the Engineer Corps of the United States Army for consultation or to superintend the 
construction or repair of any aid to navigation authorized by Congress. 

So far steps have been taken for the appointment of civilian inspec- 
tors in but four districts — the first, second, seventh, and seventeenth. 

As shown by the outlines of organization attached, each district 
has the same organization, which includes as its major subdivision — 

1. Inspector in charge. 

2. Superintendent. 

3. District office force. 

4. Construction and repair. 

5. Supply depots. 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. 

8. Reservations. 

Inspectors in charge. — Inspectors are charged with the supervision 
of all the work (except construction and repair) of the districts in 
which they are assigned to duty. In this capacity they are responsi- 
ble "for the proper management of light stations, for signal stations, 



KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 149 

light vessels, relief light vessels, lighthouse tenders, and depots; for 
keeping upon their stations all floating aids to navigation; for the 
maintenance, repair, and operation of ail lighthouse craft permanently 
or temporarily in the district; for the construction of new aids or 
additions to aids; for the repair, cleanliness, and efficient condition 
of all aids to navigation and other property in the district; for keep- 
ing ready for service at the shortest notice all spare or relief moor- 
ings, buoys, buoy appendages, and relief light vessels; for the distri- 
bution of supplies; for the efficiency of the personnel; for the dis- 
bursement as may be authorized of funds on account of the Light- 
house Service, and for such other duties as are involved in the proper 
conduct of the district." (Regulations for the United States Light- 
house Service, 1910, p. 8.) 

The regulations for the Lighthouse Service direct inspectors to 
visit and inspect all light vessels, tenders, depots, light and fog-signal 
stations, beacon and post lights, and buoys four times each year and 
unlighted beacons twice each year if practicable, and if impracticable 
to make a report of the facts to the commissioner with reasons for 
failure to make the required inspections (p. 26). The regulations 
provide that such inspections may be made by the superintendent or 
assistant superintendent. 

Superintendents . — Construction and repair work is performed under 
the immediate direction of district officers known as superintendents. 
These officers and the assistant superintendents are appointed by the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor on the joint recommendation of 
the district inspectors and the Commissioner of Lighthouses, subject 
to the civil-service rules. They are concerned with the supervision 
of the construction work carried on within the district. These offices 
are maintained m all but the river districts. 

As noted, the act of 1910 provides that the President may "detail 
officers of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army for consulta- 
tion or to superintend the construction or repair of any aid to navi- 
gation authorized by Congress." Under this authority an Engineer 
officer is assigned to each of the 19 lighthouse districts. He has a 
certain supervision of the real estate, buildings, and apparatus, and 
control over the machinists, carpenters, and laborers engaged in this 
work. The district engineer officers, agreeable to request from the 
Department of Commerce and Labor, furnish to the inspectors of the 
various lighthouse districts information of any facts which would be 
of benefit in maintaining its system of aids to navigation. 

In addition to these officers provision is also made for certain 
clerical and other assistants at the district headquarters. The fol- 
lowing statement shows the total number of employees attached to 
each district headquarters and the cost of running such office: 

Statement of number of employees in, and cost of, district offices. 





Number. 


Cost. 


First district: Portland. Me. 

Xumber of employees . . . 


8 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


$2, 400. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




8, 743. 33 


Rent 




720. 00 


Other items 




1, 735. 52 








Total 


8 


13, 598. 85 







150 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Statement of number of employees in, and cost of, district offices — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Second district: Boston, Mass. 

Number of employees 


10 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


$2, 400. 00 
13, 620. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




3, 844. 00 


Other items 




2, 823. 13 






Total 


10 


22. 687. 13 






Third district: Tompkinsville, N. Y. 

Number of employees 


37 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


0) 

46, 520. 00 
60.00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




9, 590. 19 








Total 


37 


56, 170. 19 






Fourth district: Philadelphia, Pa. 

Number of employees 


8 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


c 1 ) 

10, 020. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




4, 571. 13 








Total 


8 


14, 591. 13 






Fifth district: Baltimore, Md. 

Number of employees ... 


11 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


(!) 


Other salaries and wages 




15,000.00 


Rent 






Other items 




1, 679. 79 








Total 


11 


16, 679. 79 






Sixth district: Charleston, S. C. 

Number of employees 


9 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


f 1 ) 


Other salaries and wages 




11, 340. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




2, 634. 68 








Total 


9 


13, 974. 68 






Seventh district: Key West, Fla. 

Number of employees . . 


6 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


2, 400. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




6, 900. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




1, 618. 90 








Total 


6 


10. 918. 90 






Eighth district: New Orleans, La. 
Number of employees . 


9 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


( 2 ) 


Other salaries and wages 




11, 760. 00 


Rent . . 






Other items 




2, 888. 95 








Total 


9 


14, 648. 95 







1 Commander, U. S. Navy. 



2 Commander, IT. S. Navy, retired. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 151 

Statement of number of employees in, and cost of, district offices — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Ninth district: San Juan, P. R. 

Number of employees 


5 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


$6, 540. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




1. 259. 06 








Total 


5 


7. 799. 06 






Tenth district: Buffalo, N. Y. 

Number of employees 


8 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


( 2 ) 


Other salaries and wages 




9, 720. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




2. 127. 63 








Total 


8 


11, 847. 63 






Eleventh district: Detroit, Mich. 


9 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


11. 440. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




2, 114. 99 








Total 


9 


13, 554. 99 






Twelfth district: Chicago, 111. 

Number of employees 


8 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


0) 
10, 140. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




2, 144. 94 








Total 


8- 


12. 284. 94 






Thirteenth district: Rock Island, 111. 


4 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


3, 120. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




1, 127. 63 








Total 


4 


4. 247. 63 






Fourteenth district: Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Number of employees 


3 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


( 4 ) 
3,120.00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




158. 04 








Total 


3 


3 278 04 







i Lieutenant, U. S. Navy. 

2 Lieutenant Commander, U. S. Navv. 



3 Commander, IT. S. Navy. 

* Major, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army. 



152 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Statement of number of employees in, and cost of district offices — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Fifteenth district: St. Louis, Mo. 

Number of employees * 


3 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


$3, 240. 00 
1, 080. 00 


Other salaries and wages .. 




Rent 




Other items 




477. 12 








Total 


3 


4, 797. 12 






Sixteenth district: Ketchikan, Alaska. 

Number of employees 


7 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


( 2 ) 
7, 980. 00 


( )ther salaries and wages 




Rent 




490. 00 


Other items 




2, 661. 71 






Total 


7 


11, 131. 71 






Seventeenth district: Portland, Oreg. 

Number of employees 


8 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


2, 400. 00 






10, 500. 00 


Rent 




Other items 




3, 253. 24 








Total 


8 


16, 153. 24 






Eighteenth district: San Francisco, Cal. 

Number of employees 


8 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


( 3 ) 
10, 620. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




7, 196. 42 








Total 


8 


17, 816. 42 






Nineteenth district: Honolulu, T. H. 


6 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


( 4 ) 
8, 880. 00 






Rent 




980. 00 


Other items 




1, 608. 50 








Total 


6 


11,468.50 






Grand total: 

Number of employees 


167 




Salaries of inspectors and others in charge 


9, 600. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




209, 203. 33 


Rent 




7., 174. 00 


Other items 




51, 671. 57 








Total 


167 


277, 648. 90 







1 Lieutenant colonel, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army. 

2 Commander, U. S. Navy, retired. 

:! Lieutenant commander, U. S. Navy. 
4 Lieutenant, TJ. S. Navy. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 153 

SUPPLY DEPOTS. 

The Lighthouse Service maintains a general supply depot (known 
as the general lighthouse depot) at Tompkinsville, N. Y. Subsidiary 
depots, for convenience in the work of distribution, are maintained 
throughout the field covered by the service. The location of these 
depots, by districts, together with the number of permanent employees 
and the cost entailed in maintaining each depot, is shown in the fol- 
lowing statement : 

Statement of cost of depots. 





Number. 


Cost. 


First district: 

Little Diamond Island depot, Me. — 

Number of employees 


2 




Salaries of persons in charge 


$1, 020. 00 
900. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




121. 40 







Total 


2 


2, 041. 40 






Second district: 

Woods Hole depot, Mass- 
Number of employees 


2 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1. 020. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




600. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




521. 28 








Total 


2 


2. 141. 28 






Lovells Island depot, Mass. — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 020. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




416. 23 








Total : 


1 


1, 436. 23 






Total, second district 


3 


3,577.51 






Third district- 
General Lighthouse depot, Tompkinsville, N. Y. — 

Number of employees 


170 




Salaries of persons in charge 


2, 100. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




158, 403. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




22, 930. 14 








Total 


170 


183, 433. 14 






Xew London, depot, Conn. — 

Number of employees 


2 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 200. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




600. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




585. 23 








Total 


2 


2, 385. 23 






Total, third district 


172 


185, 818. 37 





154 EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
Statement of cost of depots — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Fourth district: 

Edgemoor Lighthouse depot, Del. — 

Number of employees 


2 




Salaries of persons in charge 


$1, 080. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




1, 119. 13 








Total 


2 


2, 199. 13 






Fifth district: 

Lazaretto depot, Md.— 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


960. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




982. 00 








Total 


1 


1, 942. 00 






Annapolis depot, Md. — ■ 


1 




C , . £ r vjy^. 

Salaries 01 persons m charge 


660. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




263. 40 








Total 


1 


923. 40 






Washington depot, D. C— 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


300. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




290. 10 








Total 


1 


590. 10 






Portsmouth depot, Va. — 

Number of employees 


4 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 080. 00 






1, 800. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




1, 116. 20 








Total 


4 


3, 996. 20 






Bogue Inlet depot, N. C. — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of .persons in charge 


120. 00 


Other salaries and wages. . . 






Rent. . 






Other items 




136. 60 








Total 


1 


256. 60 







REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 155 
Statement of cost of depots — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Fifth district — Continued . 

Washington depot, N. C. — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


$960. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




116. 19 








Total 


1 1, 076. 19 






Total, fifth district 


9 j 8, 784. 49 






Sixth district: 

Castle Pinckney depot, S. C. — 

Number of employees 


2 




Salaries of persons in charge 




1, 080. 00 
600. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




621. 42 






Total 


2 s 2,301.42 






Mosquito Inlet depot, Fla. — 

Number of employees 


1 


Salaries of persons in charge 




240. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 










110. 29 








Total 


1 1 350.29 






St. Augustine, depot, Fla. — 

Number of employees 


1 


Salaries of persons in charge 




360. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




141. 05 







Total 


1 


501. 05 






Total, sixth district 


4 


3, 152. 76 






Seventh district: 

Key West depot, Fla. — 

Number of employees 


3 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 020. 00 
1, 800. 00 


Other salaries and wages 








6.00 


Other items 




115. 60 








Total 


3 ! 2,941.60 






Eighth district: 

Mobile depot, Ala. — 

Number of employees 


| 
3 




Salaries of persons in charge 


900. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




2, 400. 00 


Rent 






Other items 


::::;::::: 


105. 77 






Total 


3 | 3. 405. 77 




! 





156 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
Statement of cost of depots — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Eighth district — Continued . 
Port Eads depot, Ala. — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


$1, 020. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 






Other items 




77.08 








Total 


1 


1,097 08 






Total, eighth district 


4 


4, 502. 85 




Ninth district: 

San Juan depot, P. R. — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


300. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




2, 040. 00 


Rent 




Other items 




62.10 








Total 


1 


2, 402. 10 




Tenth district: 

Buffalo depot, N. Y.— 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


960. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




2, 423. 47 






Total 


1 


3, 383. 47 




Eleventh district: 

Detroit depot, Mich. 

Number of employees 


3 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 080. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




1, 200. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




1, 415. 60 








Total 


3 


3, 695. 60 






Sugar Island depot, Mich. 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


720. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




5L00 








Total 


1 


771. 00 






Minnesota Point depot, Minn. 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


960. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




575. 39 








Total 


1 


1, 535. 39 






Total, eleventh district 


5 


6, 001. 99 







REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 157 

Statement of cost of depots — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Twelfth district: 

St. Joseph depot, Mich. 


2 




Salaries of persons in charge 


$1, 080. 00 
600. 00 


Other salaries and wages. . 




Rent 






Other items . . 




842. 14 








Total 


2 


2.522. 14 




i 


Charlevoix depot, Mich. 

Number of employees 


1 





Salaries of persons in charge 


600. 00 


Other salaries and wages . . 






Rent 






Other items 




210. 00 








Total 


1 


810. 86 






Milwaukee depot, Wis. 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


900. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 






Other items 




477. 00 








Total 


1 


1, 377. 00 






Total, twelfth district 


4 


4, 710. 00 






Thirteenth district: None. 
Fourteenth district: None. 
Fifteenth district: None. 
Sixteenth district: 

Tonka warehouse, Alaska — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


180. 00 


Other salaries and wages 






Rent 




412.50 


Other items 




838. 88 








Total 


1 


1, 431. 38 






Seventeenth district: 

Tongue Point depot, Oreg. — 

Number of employees 


3 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 200. 00 
1, 820. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




3, 191. 45 








Total 


3 


6,. 211. 45 




Eighteenth district: 

Yerba Buena depot, Cal. — 

Number of employees 


5 




Salaries of persons in charge 


1, 440. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




3, 120. 00 


Rent 






Other items 




2, 856. 17 








Total 


5 


7, 416. 17 





158 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
Statement of cost of depots — Continued. 





Number. 


Cost. 


Nineteenth district: 

Honolulu depot, Hawaii — 

Number of employees 


1 




Salaries of persons in charge 


$1, 020. 00 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




480. 00 


Other items 




64. 98 








Total 


1 


1, 564. 98 






Grand total: 

Number of employees 


220 




Salaries of persons in charge 


26, 580. 00 

175, 883. 00 

898. 50 


Other salaries and wages 




Rent 




Other items 




42 778 15 








Total 


220 


246, 139. 65 







LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS AND VESSELS. 

For the performance of its work the Bureau of Lighthouses has 
to maintain a large number of vessels. These may be subdivided 
into three classes : (1) Those acting as light vessels; (2) those acting 
as relief ships to take the place of light vessels which are swept from 
their moorings by storm, or are removed for purposes of repair or 
other reasons; and (3) those acting as tenders and supply boats to 
place and repair buoys and other aids to navigation, to convey sup- 
plies to lightships, and perform other work of a like character. The 
outlines of organization show in detail the names of these vessels and 
the districts in which stationed. 

The light vessels perform the duties of the lighthouse stations on 
the shore. A commanding officer is in charge, who is responsible for 
the safety and proper navigation of the vessel and the care of the 
public property on board. He has command of the officers (known 
as "deck officers" and "engineer officers") and the crew. An officer 
of the deck is always on duty. He is the officer on watch in charge 
of the ship. Some of the light vessels maintain wireless equipment. 

Kecord books consisting of the deck log, steam log, and record of 
fog signal are kept. 

The commanding officer is directed to report to the inspector all 
important hydrographic or other information he may gather con- 
cerning the navigation of ships and to the collectors of customs and 
local inspectors of steam vessels such violations of navigation and 
inspection laws as come within his notice. 

The record books (which form a part of the official record of the 
vessel) consist of the deck log and the steam log. 

Daily, monthly, and annual reports of various kinds, are submitted 
for light tenders. 

The lighthouse tenders have the same personnel as light vessels. 
Their functions, as stated, consists in the placing, replacing, changing, 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 159 

or moving of all floating aids to navigation, the delivery of fuel, sup- 
plies, construction material, and in such other lighthouse duties as 
may be required of them. (Regulations 1910.) 

blasters of lighthouse tenders are vested with police powers in 
matters pertaining to Government property and smuggling. 

LIGHT STATIONS. 

Each light station is in charge of a keeper (official title), who 
generally has one or more assistants — first assistant keeper, second 
assistant keeper, etc. The keepers and assistants must be able to 
read and write. The keepers make personal weekly inspection of 
the station, including quarters of all assistants and laborers. Where 
there is an assistant, watches must be constantly kept; and lights 
are exhibited from sunset to sunrise. As official records of the station 
a journal (which contains a complete record of the important events at 
the stations having resident keepers), an expenditure book (which 
contains a record of the expenditures of stations having resident 
keepers), a watch book (containing a record of time of going on and 
leaving watch and a record of the morning conditions of the light), 
and fog-signal books are kept at the stations. 

All employees on vessels and at stations are employed by the 
Secretary of Commerce and Labor, on the nomination of inspectors 
under regulations prescribed by the Commissioner of Lighthouses 
and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and in accordance with 
the rules of the Civil Service Commission. 

The Secretary of Commerce and Labor is authorized to regulate the 
salaries of the respective keepers of lighthouses, it being provided 
that the whole sum allowed for such shall not exceed an average of 
$600. > 

i Each appointed light keeper is by law entitled to receive one ration per day, which is commuted at the 
rate of 30 cents per ration. 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 11 



OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND 
LABOR, BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES. 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 

1. General administration 

2. Engineering construction division. 

3 . Marine engineering division 

4 . Hydrographic division 

5. Field service districts 



160 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
1. General administration. 

1. Office proper of the Commissioner of Lighthouses. 

2. Deputy commissioner 

3. Chief clerk 

1 . Personnel 

2. Contracts 

3 . Files 

4. Accounts division 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



161 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1. First district, Portland, Me 

2. Second district, Boston, Mass 

3. Third district, Tompkinsville, N. Y.... 

4. Fourth district, Philadelphia, Pa 

5. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md 

6. Sixth district, Charleston, S. C 

7. Seventh district, Key West, Fla 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La 

9. Ninth district, San Juan, P. R 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, 111 

13. Thirteenth district, Rock Island, 111... 

14. Fourteenth district, Cincinnati, Ohio... 

15. Fifteenth district, St. Louis, Mo 

16. Sixteenth district, Ketchikan, Alaska. . 

17. Seventeenth district, Portland, Oreg... 

18. Eighteenth district, San Francisco, Cal. 

19. Nineteenth district, Honolulu, Hawaii. 



5 
12 
17 

22 
27 
32 
37 
42 
47 
52 
57 
62 
67 
68 
69 
70 
73 
78 
83 



162 



Refer- 
ence 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1 . First district, Portland. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 

7. Light stations and other aids 

8. Reservations 



10 
11 



163 



Refer- 
ence 
pajre. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1. First district, Portland. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Bear Island, Me 

2. Little Diamond Island, Me 

3. Portland, Me 

4. Whitehead, Me ! 



164 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1. First district, Portland. 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Hibiscus (steamer, screw) 

2. Lilac (steamer, screw) 

2. Vessels (light vessels) 

1. No. 74, Cape Elizabeth, Me. (wood) 



Refer - 
ence 
page. 



165 



10 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1. First district, Portland. 

7. Light stations and other aids. 
1. Light stations proper .. . 

1. Avery Rock L. S. 

2. ~ 
3. 
4. 
5. 



Maine 

Baker Island L. S., Maine 

*Bass Harbor Head L. S., Maine 

*Bear Island L. S., Maine 

*Blue Hill Bay L. S., Maine 

*Boon Island L. S., Maine (2) 

*Browns Head L. S., Maine 

*Burnt Coat Harbor 

*Burnt Island L. S., Maine 

*Cape Elizabeth L. S-, Maine (3) 

11. *Cape Neddick L. S., Maine 

12. *Crabtree Ledge L. S., Maine (1) 

*Cuckolds (The) L. S., Maine (1) 

*Deer Island Thoroughfare L. S., Maine 

*DiceHead L. S., Maine 

Doubling Point L. S., Maine 

"^Doubling Point Range L. S., Maine 

*Eagle Island L. S., Maine 

*Egg Rock I,. S., Maine (1) 

*Fort Point L. S., Maine. 

*Fort Popham L. S., Maine 

*Franklin Island L. S., Maine 

*Goat Island L. S., Maine 

*Goose Rocks L. S., Maine (1) 

*Great Duck Island L. S., Maine (2) 

*Grindel Point L. S., Maine 

*Hendricks Head L. S., Maine 

*HeronNeck L. S., Maine 

*Indian Island L. S., Maine 

*Isle au Haut L. S., Maine , 

*Isles of Shoals L. S., Maine (1) 

*Jaffery Point Beacon and Frosts Point Beacon 

Lights, New Hampshire 

*Libby Islands L. S., Maine (2) 

*Little River L. S., Maine 

*Lubec L. S., Maine (1) 

*Manana Island fog signal, Maine (1) 

*Marshall Point L. S., Maine 

*Matinicus Rock L. S., Maine (3) 

39. Monhegan Island L. S., Maine (1) 

40. *Moose Peak L. S., Maine (1) 

41. *Mount Desert L. S., Maine (2) 

42. *Narraguagus L. S., Maine 

43. *Nash Island L. S., Maine 

*Negro Island L. S., Maine 

*Owishead L. S., Maine 

*Penaquid Point L. S., Maine 

*Perkins Island L. S., Maine 

*PetitManan L. S., Maine (2) 



7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 



13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 
32. 

33. 
34. 
35. 
36. 
37. 
38. 



44. 
45. 
46. 

47. 
48. 



49. *Pond Island L. S., Maine. 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants prope r , or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
*Also fog-signal station. 

Note.— By light station proper (as interpreted ky the Bureau of Lighthouses) is meant a station having 
a keeper residing at the station. The keeper is I'le only employee at the station, except as otherwise 
indicated. 



166 



10a 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

1. First district, Portland — Continued. 

7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 

1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

50. *Portland Breakwater L. S., Maine 

51. ^Portland Head L. S., Maine (1) 

52. *Portsmouth Harbor (Newcastle) L. S., Maine. 

53. *Prospect Harbor L. S., Maine 

54. *Pumpkin Island L. S., Maine 

55. *Ram Island L. S., Maine 

56. *Ram Island Ledge L. S., Maine (2) 

57. *Rock Island Breakwater L. S., Maine (1) 

58. ^Saddleback Ledge L. S., Maine (2) 

59. *SequinL. S., Maine (2) 

60. *Spring Point Ledge L. S., Maine (1) 

61. *Squirrel Point L. S., Maine 

62. *St. Croix River L. S., Maine 

63. *Tennant Harbor L. S., Maine 

64. *Two-Bush Island L. S., Maine (1) 

65. *West Quoddy Head L. S., Maine'(l) 

66. *WhalebackL. S., Maine (2) 

67. *Whithead L. S., Maine (2) 

68. Whitlocks Mill L. S., Maine 

69. *Winter Harbor L. S., Maine 

70. *Wood Island L. S., Maine 

71 . *Halfway Rock L. S., Maine (2) 

2. Lights l 

1. Attended lights 4 

1. Laborers 3 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, day marks, etc 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1 For location and description of lights, buoys, day marks, and other aids to navigation, see official 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
*Also fog-signal station. 



167 



11 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1. First district, Portland, Me. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Clarks Ledge, Maine (Eastport) 

2. Channel Rock, Maine (Rockland) 

3. Stockmans Island, Maine (Portland) 

4. Great Spoon Island, Maine (Isle au Haut) 

5. Kennebunk River, Maine (Kennebunk Port) 

6. Marks Island, Maine (Winter Harbor) 

7. Nautillus, Maine (C astine) 

8. Pier Wells Harbor, Maine (Webs) 

9. Ram Island, Maine (Phippsburg) 

10. Ram Island, Maine (Machias) 

11. Saco River, Maine (Biddeford) 

12. Stage Island, Maine (Biddeford) 

13. Portsmouth Sunken Rocks, New Hampshire (Ports- 

mouth) 



168 



12 



Refer- 
ence 



1. Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

2. Second district, Boston, Mass. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 13 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 14 

7. Light stations and other aids j 15 

8. Reservations „_ I 16 



169 



13 



Department oi Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

1. Second district, Boston, Mass 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Lowells Island, Mass 

2. Woods Hole, Mass. . 

3. Boston, Mass 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



170 



14 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

2. Second district, Boston, Mass. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Anemone (steamer, screw) 

2. Azalea (steamer, screw) 

3. Mayflower (steamer, screw) 

2. Vessels (light vessels) 

1. Shorefield Shoal, Mass., No. 3 (wood) 

2. Handkerchief, Mass., No. 4 (wood) 

3. Cross Rip, Mass., No. 5 (wood) 

4. Succonnesset, Mass., No. 6 (wood) 

5. Relief, No. 9 (wood) 

6. Vineyard Sound (Sow and Pigs), Mass., No. 9 

(wood) 

7. Great Round Shoal, Mass., No. 86 (steel) 

8. Pollock Rip, Mass., No. 47 (composition) 

9. Boston, Mass., No. 54 (steel) 

10. Relief, No. 66 (composition) 

11. Pollock Rip Shoal, Mass., No. 73 (steel) 

12. Nantucket Shoals, Mass., No. 85 (steel) 

13. Hen and Chickens, Mass., No. 42 (steel) 

14. Hedge Fence, Mass., No. 41 (steel) 

15. Relief, No. 2 (wood) 



171 



15 



Refer- 
ence 
page. I 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

2. Second district, Boston, Mass. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper | 

1. Annisquam Harbor L. S., Mass I 

2. *Bakers Island L. S., and Bakers Island Light, | 

Mass. (1) I 

3. Bass River L. S., Mass 

4. Billingsgate Island L. S., Mass 

5. *Bird Island L. S., Mass | 

6. *Bishop and Clerks L. S., Mass. (2)^ 

7. *Boston L. S., and Boston (auxiliary) Light, 

Mass. (2) 

8. Brant Point L. S., Nantucket Harbor Range 

Lights and Nantucket East and West Break- 
water Lights, Mass 

9. Broad Sound Channel Range Lights and Specta- 

cle Island Range L. S., Mass. (1) 

10. *Butler Flats L. S., Mass. (1) 

11. *CapeAnnL. S., Mass. N. & S. (4) 

12. *Cape Cod L. S., Mass (2) 

13. Cape Poge L. S., Mass. (1) 

14. Chatham L. S., Mass 

15. Cuttyhunk L. S., Mass 

16. *Deer Island L. S., Mass. (1) 

17. *Dumpling Rock L. S., Mass. (1) : 

18. *Duxbury Pier L. S., Mass. (1) 

19. East Chop L. S., Mass 

20. *Eastern Point L. S., and Gloucester Break- 

water Light, Mass. (1) 

21. Edgartown L. S., Mass 

22. Egg Rock L. S., Mass 

23. Fort Pickering L. S., Mass 

24. Gay Head L. S., Mass. (1) 

25. Hospital Point L. S., Mass 

26. Hyannis Range L. S., Mass 

27. Ipswich Range L. S., Mass 

28. Long Island Head L. S., Mass 

29. *Long Point L. S., Mass 

30. Lovells Island Range L. S., Mass 

31. Marblehead L. S., Mass 

32. Mayo Beach L. S., Mass 

33. *Minots Ledge L. S., Mass. (3) 

34. Monomoy Point L. S., Mass 

35. Nantucket (Great Point) L. S., Mass 

36. ^Narrows L. S., Mass 

37. Nauset Beach L. S., Mass 

38. Ned Point L. S., Mass 

39. Newburyport Harbor L. S., and Salisbury Beach 

Range lights, Mass 

40. *Nobska Point L. S., Mass 

41. *Palmer Island L. S., Mass 

42. *Plymouth (Gurmet) Range L. S., Mass. (1) 

43. *Race Point L. S., Mass. (2) 

44. Sandy Neck L. S., Mass 



(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(4) Keeper has 4 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Fog-signal station also. 



172 



15a 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

2. Second district. Boston, Mass. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 

1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

45. Sankaty Head L. S., Mass. (1). 

46. Stage Harbor L. S., Mass 

47. Straitsmouth L. S., Mass 

48. *Tarpaulin Cove L. S., Mass. . 

49. Tenpound Island L. S., Mass.. 

50. *The Graves L. S., Mass. (3). . 

51. *West Chop L. S., Mass. (1)... 

52. "Wings Neck L. S., Mass 

53. *Wood End L. S., Mass 

2. Lights 1 

1. Attended lights (23) 

1 . Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1 For location and description of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see official 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 
(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers) 
tog-signal station also. 



(3) 1 
* Fc 



173 



16 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

2. Second district, Boston, Mass. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Aldertons Bar Point, Mass. (Hull) 

2. Clarks Point, Mass. (New Bedford) 

3. Fair Ha/en, Mass. (Fair Haven) 

4. Merrimack River, Mass. (Newburyport) 

5. Nantucket Great or Sandy Point, Mass. (Nantucket).. 

6. Parmet Harbor, Mass. (Truro) 

7. Point of Rocks, Mass. ( Westport) 



174 



17 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

3. Third district, Tompkinsville, N. Y. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots | 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 19 

7. Light stations and other aids I 20 

8. Reservations I 21 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 12 175 



18 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2, Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

3. Third district, Tompkinsville, N. Y. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Absecon, N. J 

2. Goat Island, R. I 

3. Juniper Island, Vt 

4. New London, Conn 

5. Tompkinsville, N. Y. (general lighthouse depot) 



176 



19 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

3. Third district, Tompkinsville, N. Y. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels . 

1 . Tenders 

1 . Daisy (steamer, screw) 

2. Gardenia (steamer, screw) 

3 . John Rodgers (steamer, screw) 

4. Larkspur (steamer, screw) 

5. Pansy (steamer, screw) 

6. Pink (gasoline, screw) 

7. Tulip (steamer screw) 

8. Mistletoe (steamer, side-wheel) 

9. Iris (steamer, side-wheel) 

10. Myrtle (steamer, side-wheel ) 

2 "VosspIs 

1 . Scot'land,*N." J.",'No"."ii"(wood j." '. '. . '. .......... 

2. Bartlett Reef, Conn., No. 13 (wood) 

3. Relief, No. 16 (wood) 

4. Relief, No. 20 (wood) 

5. Ram Island Reef, N. Y., No. 23 (wood) 

6. Brenton Reef, R. I., No. 39 (wood) 

7. Cornfield Point, Conn., No. 48 (composition). 

8. Relief No. 51 (steel) 

9. Fire Island, N. Y., No. 68 (steel) 

10. Relief, No. 78 (steel) 

11. Ambrose Channel, No. 87 (steel) 

12. Northeast End, N. J., No. 44 (iron) 

13. Overfalls, Del., No. 69 (steel) 

14. Five-Fathom Bank, N. J., No. 79 (steel) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



177 



20 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

3. Third district, Tompkins ville, N. Y. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. Absecon L. S., N. J. (2) 

2. Barber Point L. S., N. Y 

3. Bamegat L. S., N. J. (2) 

4. *Beavertail L. S., R. I. (1) 

5. *Bergen Point L. S. and Corner Stake Light, N.Y. 

6. Black Rock L. S., N. Y 

7. *Block Island (N.) L. S., R. I 

8. *Block Island (SE.)L. S., R. I. (2) 

9. Block Island Breakwater Range Lights and Great 

Salt Pond Breakwater Lights, R. I 

10. Bluff Point L. S., N.Y 

11. *Borden Flats L. S., Mass 

12. Bridgeport Breakwater Light, Conn 

13. Bridgeport Harbor L. S. and Bridgeport Harbor 

East Breakwater Light, Conn 

14. Bristol Ferry L. S., R. I 

15. Bullock Point L. S., R. I 

16. ^Burlington Breakwater Lights, Vt 

(Includes Burlington Breakwater, south; Bur- 
lington Breakwater, north extension; pier- 
head, north end, and Burlington Break- 
water, north extension; pierhead, south end.) 

17. *Castle Hill L. S., R. I 

18. *Cedar Island L. S., N. Y 

19. Chapel Hill L. S., N.J 

20. Colchester Reef L. S., Vt 

21. *Cold Spring Harbor L. S.. N. Y 

22. Conanicut Island L. S., R. I 

23. *Coney Island L. S., N. Y 

24. Conimicut L. S., R. I 

25. Conover Beacon (Front) L. S., N. J 

26. CoxsackieL. S., N. Y 

27. Crown Point L. S., N. Y 

28. Cumberland Head L. S., N. Y 

29. *Danskammer Point L. S., N. Y 

30. *Dutch Island L. S., N. Y 

31. *Eatons Neck L. S., N. Y. (1) 

32. Elm Tree Beacon L. S., N. Y 

33. *Esopus Meadows L. S., N. Y 

34. ^Execution Rocks L. S., N. Y. (1) 

35. *Falkner Island L. S., Conn. (1) 

36. Fire Island L. S., N. Y 

37. *Fort Wadsworth L. S., N. Y. (1) 

38. Four Mile Point L. S., N. Y 

39. * Gould Island L. S., R. I 

40. * Great Beds L. S., N. J 

41. * Great Captain Island L. S., N. Y. (1) 

42. * Greene Ledge L. S., Conn. (1) 

43. * Gull Rocks L. S., R. I 

44. Hereford Inlet L. S., N. J 

45. *Hog Island Shoal L. S., R. 1.(1) 

46. Horton Point L. S., N. Y 

47. * Hudson City L. S., N. Y 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers), 
* Also fog-signal station. 

178 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



20a 





Refer- 
ence 
page. 


Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

3. Third district, Tompkins ville, N. Y. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 
1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

48. * Isle La Motte Lt. , Vt 




49. Juniper Island L. S. , Vt 




49. * Latimer Reef L. S., N. Y. (1) 




51. Lime Rock L. S., R. I 




52. * Little Gull Island L. S., N. Y. (2) 




53. Lloyd Harbor L. S., N. Y 




54. * Long Beach Bar L. S., N. Y. (1) 

55. Ludlam Beach L. S., N.J 




56. *Montauk Point L. S., N. Y. (2) 




57. Morgan Point L. S., Conn 




58. * Mussel Bed L. S., R. I 




59. *Navesink L. S., and Shrewsbury River Lights, 
N.J. (3) 




60 New DorpL. S., N. Y. 




61. * New Haven Long Wharf Lt. , Conn 




62. * New Haven Outer Breakwater L. S., and New 
Haven Middle Breakwater West End Light, 
Conn. (1) 




63. * New London Harbor L. S. , Conn 




64. * New London Ledge L. S. , Conn. (2) 




65. * Newport Harbor L. S., R. I 




66. *N. Brother Island L. S., Rikers Island, Oak 
Bluff South Brother Island Ledge, Lawrence 
Point Ledge, and Sunken Meadow Lights, 
N. Y 




67. * North Dumpling L. S., N. Y 




68. * North Hook Beacon L. S., and Sandy Hook 
Fog Bell, N. J. (2) 




69. Old Field Point L. S., Conn 




70. * Old Orchard Shoal L. S., N. Y. (1) 

71. * Orient Point L. S., N. Y. (1) 




72. *PassiacL. S., N. Y. (1) 




73. * Pecks Ledge L. S., Conn. (1) 




74. *Penfield Reef, L. S., Conn. (1) 




75. Plattsburg Breakwater Northeast and Platts- 

burg Breakwater Southwest Light, N. Y 

76. * Plum Beach L. S., R. I. (1) 




77. *Plum Island L. S., N. Y 




78. Point Comfort L. S., N. J 




79. * Point Judith L. S., R. I. (1) 




80. Pointe aux Rouches L. S., N. Y 




81. * Ponham Rocks and Fuller Rock L. S., R. I. . . 

82. * Port Jefferson East Breakwater and Point Jef- 

ferson West Lights, N. Y 




83. Princess Bay L. S., N. Y 




84. * Prudence Island L. S., R. I 




85. * Race Rock L. S.. N. Y. (2) 




86. *RobbinsReef L.S., N. Y. (1) 




87. * Rockland Lake L. S., N. Y. (1) 




88. * Romer Shoal L. S., N. Y. (1) 




89. * Rondout L. S., Rondout South Dike, Rondout 
North Dike End, and Rondout North Dike 
Middle Lights, N. Y 





1} Keeper has 1 assistant. 

2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
Also fog-signal station. 

179 



20b 





Refer- 
ence 
page. 


Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

3. Third district, Tompkinsville, N. Y. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 
1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

90. *Rose Tsland L. 8.. R. T 




91. 


* Sabine Point L. S., R. I 




92. 


Sakonnet L. S., R. I 




93. 


Sands Point L. S., R. I 




94. 


Sandy Hook L. S., N. J 




95. 


Saugerties South Dike Light and Saugerties L. 
S.,N. Y 




96. 


* Saybrook (Lynde Point) L. S. , Conn 




97. 


* Saybrook Breakwater L. S., Conn 




98. 


Seagirt L. S., N.J 




99. 
100. 

101. 


Shinnecock Bay L. S., N. Y. (2) 

* Southwest Ledge L. S., New Haven Middle 

Breakwater East End Light, Conn. (1) 

Split Rock L. S., N. Y 




102. 


* Stamford Harbor L. S., Conn 




103. 


Staten Island L. S., N. Y. (1) 




104. 


* Stepping Stones L. S., N. Y 




105. 


* Stonington Breakwater and Stonington Outer 
Breakwater L. S., Conn 




106. 


* Stony Point Upper L. S., and Stony Lower 
Light, N. Y 




107. 


Stratford Point L. S. , Conn. (1) 




108. 


* Stratford Shoal (Middle Grounds) L. S., 
N. Y. (2) 




109. 


Stuyvesant L. S., N. Y. ........ . 




110. 


*TarrytownL. S., N. Y. 




111. 


*ThrOgs Neck L. S., N. Y 




112. 
113. 
114. 


* Tucker Beach and Sea Haven L. S., N. J 

Waackaack (Rear) L. S., N. J. . 

* Warwick L. S., R. I. (1). .' 




115. 


* Watch Hill L. S., R. I. (1) . . . . 




116. 


* West Bank L. S., N. Y. (2) 




117. 


West, Point Lisht, N. Y 




118. 


* Whale RockL. S., N. Y. (1)... 




119. 


*Wickford Harbor L. S., R. I..... 




120. 


Windmill Point L. R.. Vt 




2. Fog-signal stations proper 




1, Fort, Adams Foer-Sienal Station. R. I 






1. Laborer in charge 




2. Fort Lafavpttfi Foff-Si<mal Station. N. Y 






1. Laborer in charge 




3. G 


overnors Island Light and Governors Island East 
End Fog-Signal Station, N. Y 






1 . Laborer in charge 






1. Laborer 




3. Light 
1. A 


s 1 




.ttended lights, 138 






1 . Laborers in charge 




2. TJn attend fid lights 




4. Buoy 


?, daymarks. etc 









1 For location and description of lights, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see official lists pub- 
lished by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also for signal stations. 



ISO 



21 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

3. Third district, Tompkinsville, N. Y. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Castle Island, R. I. (Bristol) 

2. Brockways Beach, Conn. (Brockway) 

3. Calus Island, Conn. (Old Lyne) 

4. Devils Wharf, Conn. (Deep River) 

5. Mill River, Conn. (Stamford) 

6. Patrick Rock, Conn. (Norwalk) 

7. Fishers Island (Race Point), N. Y. (New London, 

Conn) 

8. Mill Reef, N. Y. (Brooklyn) 

9. Petters or Sea Flower Reef, N. Y. (New London, 

Conn.) 

10. Sand Spit, N. Y. (Stuyvesant) 

11. Schodack Channel, N. Y. (Castleton) 

12. Waterfront in Brooklyn, East River, N. Y. (Brooklyn). 

13. Atlantic City, N. J. (Atlantic City) 

14. Barnegat Jetty, N. J. (Barnegat City) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



181 



22 



Refer- 
ence 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

4. Fourth district, Philadelphia, Pa. 

1. Inspector 

2. Superintendent in charge 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



182 



23 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

4. Fourth district, Philadelphia, Pa. 
5. Supply depots. 

1 . Chincoteague, Va 

2. Edgemoor, Del 

3. Lewes, Del 

4. Tucker Beach, N. J 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



183 



24 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

4. Fourth district, Philadelphia, Pa. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Sunflower (steamer, screw). 

2. Zigania (steamer, screw)... 



184 



25 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

4. Fourth district, Philadelphia, Pa. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. Baker Range L. S., Del 

2. Bellevue Range Front L. S., Del 

3. * Bellevue Range Rear L. S., Del 

4. * Billingsport Front L. S., N. J 

5. Bombay Hook L. S. and Smyrna Range Lights, 

Del 

6. * Brandywine Shoal L. S., Del. (2) 

7. Cape Henlopen L. S., Del. (2) 

8. Cape May L. S., N.J. (2) 

9. * Cherry Island Front Range L. S., Del 

10. Cherry Island Range Rear L. S., Del 

11. Cohansey L. S., N. J 

12. Deep Water Point Range Front L. S., N. J 

13. Deep Water Point Range Rear L. S., N. J 

14. * Delaware Breakwater Range Front L. S., and 

Delaware Breakwater West End Light, Del. (2) 

15. Delaware Breakwater Range Rear L. S., Del. (1). 

16. * Elbow of Cross Ledge L. S.,N.J. (2) 

17. Fenwick Island L. S., Del. (1) 

18. Finns Point Range Front L. S., N. J 

19. Finns Point Range Rear L. S., N. J 

20. Fort Mifflin Bar Cut Range Rear L. S., N. J 

21. * Fourteen Foot Bank L. S., Del. (2) 

22. * Harbor of Refuge L. S., and Harbor of Refuge 

North End Light, Del. (2) 

23. Horseshoe Range East Group L. S., N.J 

24. Horseshoe Range West Group L. S., N. J 

25. * Killick Shoal L. S., Va. 

26. Listons Range Front L. S., Del 

27. Listons Range Rear L. S., Del. (1) 

28. Mahon River L. S., Del 

29. New Castle Range Front L. S., Del 

30. Mispillon River L. S., Del 

31. Maurice River L. S., N. J. 

32. Maurice River Range L. S., N. J 

33. New Castle Range Rear L. S., Del 

34. * Old Reedy Island L. S., Del 

35. Reedy Island Range Front L. S., Del 

36. Schooner Ledge Range Front L. S., Pa 

37. Schooner Ledge Range Rear L. S., Pa 

38. Schuykill River Range L. S. , Pa 

39. * Ship John Shoal L. S., N.J. (2) 

40. Tinicum Island Range Rear L. S., N. J 

2. Fog-signal stations proper 

1. Fort Mifflin Fog-Signal Station, Pa 

3. Lights * 

1. Attended lights (19) 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

4. Buoys, daymarks etc 



1 For location and description of buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see list published by 
Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
*Also fog-signal station. 

IS5 



26 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

4. Fourth district, Philadelphia, Pa. 

ft TlfSPTDClVhOTlS 

1. Deep Water Point, N. J. (Wilmington, Del.), 

2. Little Creek, Del. (Little Creek) 

3. Cape Henlopen, Del. (Rehoboth) 

4. Mahon Ditch, Del. (Little Creek) 



186 



27 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

5. Fifth district j Baltimore, Md. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 28 

Lighthouse tenders and stations 29 



7. Light stations. 

8. Reservations. 



30 
31 



187 



28 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 

5. Field service. ! 

5. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md. 
5. Supply depots. 

1 . Annapolis, Md >..... 

2. Canton, Md 

3. Point Lookout, Md 

4 . Portsmouth, Va * 

5. Washington, D. 

6. Washington, N . C 

7. Lazaretto Point, Md 



188 



29 

i 



Refer- 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

5. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Holly (steamer, side wheel) 

2. Juniper (steamer, screw) 

3. Maple (steamer, screw) 

4. Orchid (steamer, screw) 

5. Jessamine (steamer, side wheel) 

6. Thistle (steamer, screw) 

2. Vessels 

1. 35-foot Channel, Virginia, No. 45 (steel) 

2. Tail of the Horseshoe, Va., No. 46 (steel) 

3. Cape Charles. Va., No. 49 (composition) 

4. Fenwick Island Shoal, Del., No. 52 (steel) , 

5. Diamond Shoal, N. C, No. 71 (composition) 

6. Relief No. 72 (steel) 

7. Cape Lookout Shoals, N. C, No. 80 (steel) 

8. Winter Quarter Shoal, Va. (Relief), No. 91 (steel). 



sb 



30 





Refer- 
ence 

page. 


Depar 
2. 


tment of Commerce and Labor. 
Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

6. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper _ 






1. Assateague L. S. and Fishing Point and Assa- 
teague Anchorage Lights, Va. (3) 






2. Back River L. S., Va 






3. ^Baltimore L. S., Md. (1) 






4. * Bells Rock L. S., Md 






5. * Blackistone Island L. S., Md 






G. * Bloody Point Bar L. S., Md. (1). 






7. * Bluff Shoal L. S., N. C. (1) 






8. Bodie Island L. S., N. C 

9. * Bowlers Rock L. S., Va 






10. * Brant Island Shoal L. S. and Brant Island Slue 
Light, N. C. (1) 






11. * Cape Charles L. S., Va. (2) 






12. Cape Hatteras L. S., N. C. (2) 






13. *CapeHenrvL. S., Va. (3) 

14. Cape Lookout L. S., N. C. (2) 






15. * Cedar Point L. S., Md 






16. * Cherrystone L. S., Va. (1) 






17. * Choptank River L. S., Md. (1) 






18. * Cobb Point Bar L. S., Md. (1) 






19. Cove Point L. S., Md. (1) 






20. Craighill Channel Range Front L. S., Md. (1). . 

21. Craighill Channel Range Rear L. S., Md. (1) 

22. * Craney Island L. S., Va. (1) 






23. *CroatanL. S., N. C. (1) 






24. Currituck Beach L. S., N. C. (1) 






25. Currituck Sound Beacon Lights, N. C 






26. Cutoff Channel Range Front L. S., Md. (1) 

27. Cutoff Channel Range Rear L. S., Md 






28. * Deep Water Shoals L. S., Va, (1) 






29. * Drum Point L. S.. Md 






30. Dutch Cap Cutoff Lights, Va 






31. Fenwick Island L. S., Del. (1) 






32. Fishing Battery L. S., Md 

33. * Fort Carroll L. S., Md 






34. * Fort Washington L. S., Md 






35. * Great Shoals L. S., Md 






36. * Great Wicomico River L. S., Va 






37. * Greenbury Point Shoal L. S., Md. (1) 

38. * Gull Shoal L. S., N. C. (1) .' 






39. * Harbor Island Bar L. S., N. C 






40. Hatteras Inlet L. S., N. C. (1) 






•41. Havre de Grace L. S., Md 






42. * Hawkins Point L. S.. Md 






43. Hog Island L. S., Va. (2) 






44. * Holland Island Bar L. S., Md. (1) 






45. * Hooper Island L. S., Md. (1) 






46. * Hooper Strait L. S., Md. (1) 






47. * Janes Island L. S., Md. (1) 






48. Jones Point L. S., Va 






49. Jordan Point L. S., Va 






50. Kitts Point No. 1 and Smith Creek No. 2 Lights, 
Md 





(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 

190 



30a 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

6. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 
1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

51. Laurel Point L. S., N. C 

52. Lazaretto Point L. S., Md. (1) 

53. Leading Point L. S., Md 

54. Long Shoal L. S., N. C. (1) 

55. Love Point L. S., Md. (1) 

56. Lower Cedar Point L. S. and Lower Cedar Point 

Beacon L. S., Md. (1) , 

57. * Maryland Point L. S. and Matomkin Point 

Middle Ground Light, Md. (1) 

58. * Mathias Point Shoal L. S., Port Tobacco River 

Flats, and Persimmon Point Shoal Lights, 
Md. (1) 

59. * Nansemond River L. S., Va. (1) 

60. * Neuse River L. S. and Point of Marsh Light, 

N. C. (1) 

61. Newbern Harbor Lights, N. C 

62. New Point Comfort L. S., Va 

63. * Newport News Middle Ground L. S., Va. (1). 

64. * North River L. S., N. C. (1) 

65. OcracokeL. S., N. C 

66. * Old Plantation Flats L. S., Va. (1) 

67. * Old Point Comfort L. S., Va 

68. * Pages Rock L. S., Va. (1) 

69. * Pamlico Point L. S., N. C. (1) 

70. * Piney Point L. S., Md. (1) 

71. * Point Lookout L. S., Md 

72. * Point No Point L. S., Md. (1) 

73. * Point of Shoals L. S., Md. (1) 

74. * Pooles Island L. S., Md 

75. * Ragged Point L. S., Md. (1) 

76. * Roanoke Marshes L. S., N. C. (1) 

77. * Roanoke River L. S., N. C. (1) 

78. * Sandy Point L. S., Md. (1) 

79. * Seven-Foot Knoll L. S., Md. (1) 

80. * Sharkfin Shoal L. S., Md. (1) 

81. * Sharps Island L. S., Md. (2) 

82. * Smith Point L. S., Md. (1) 

83. * Solomons Lump L. S., Md. (1) 

84. * Somers Cove L. S., Md. (1) 

85. * Southwest Point Royal L. S., N. C. (1) 

86. * Stingray Point L. S., Va. (1) 

87. * Turkey Point L. S., Md 

88. * Tangier Sound L. S., Va. (1) 

89. * Thimble Shoal L. S., Va. (2) 

90. *. Thomas Point Shoal L. S., Md. (1) 

91. * Tue Marshes L. S., Va. (1) 

92. * Upper Cedar Point L. S., Md. (1) 

93. * Wade Point L. S., N. C. (1) 

94. * Watts Island L. S., Va. (1) 

95. * White Shoal L. S., Va. (1) 

96. * Windmill Point L. S., Va. (1) 

97. *WolfTrapL. S., Va. (2) 

98. * York Spit L. S., Va. (1) 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 13 191 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



30b 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

6. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued 

2. Fog-signal stations proper 

1. Lambert Point Station proper . 

3. Lights 1 

1. Attended lights (139) 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

4. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



1 For location and description of buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see list published by 
Department of Commerce and Labor. 



192 



31 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field serrice. 

5. Fifth district, Baltimore, Md. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Bodkins Point, Md. (Sparrow Point) 

2. Clay Island, Md. (Daux es Quarter) 

3. Fog or Frog Point, Md. (Crisfield) 

4. Days or Dogs Point, Va. (Newport News) 

5. Lambert Point, Va. (Norfolk) 

6. Pungoteague, Va. (Pungoteague) 

7. Beacon Island, N. C. (Cape Hatteras, N. C.) 

8. Currituck and Albemarle Sounds, N. C. (Elizabeth 

City) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



193 



32 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

6. Sixth district, Charleston, S. C. 

1 . Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



33 
34 
35 
36 



194 



33 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

6. Sixth district, Charleston, S. C. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Castle Pinckney, N. C. 

2. Charleston, S. C 



195 



34 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

Sixth district, Charleston, S. C. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Cypress (steamer, screw) 

2. Water Lily (gasoline, screw) 

3. Arum (gasoline, screw) 

4. Snowdrop (gasoline, screw) 

2. Vessels 

1. Frying-Pan Shoals, N. C, No. 1 (wood) 

2. Martins Industry, S. C. , No. 29 (wood) 

3. Charleston, S. C, No. 34 (wood) 

4. Relief, No. 53 (steel) 

5. Brunswick, Ga. , No. 84 (steel) 

6. Knuckle of Frying-Pan Shoals, N. C, No. 94 

(wood) , new 



196 



35 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field sendee. 

6. Sixth district, Charleston, S. C. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. Amelia Island, L. S., Fla 

2. Bald Head L. S., N. C 

3. Barnwell Place (Oglethorpe Range rear), Proctor 

Place, Oglethorpe Range Point, Fort Jackson 
Range Front and Rear, Ga. &S.C 

4. Bloody Point Range, S. C 

5. Bull Bay L.S.,S.C. (1) 

6. Cape Canaveral L. S., Fla. (2) 

7. Cape Fear L.S.,N.C. (2) „• 

8. Cape RomaineL. S., S. C. (2) 

9. Charleston L. S., S. C. (2) 

10. Daufuskie Island Range L. S., S. C 

11. Drum Island South Light No. 4, Drum Island 

West Light No. 6, Town Creek North Light 
No. 5, Middle Shoal Light No. 7, Marsh Point 
Light No. 9, Upper Marsh Point Light No. 11, 
Drum Island North Spit Light No. 8, and 
Daniels Island Shoal Light No. 10, S. C 

12. East Marsh Island No. 2, Sisters Rocks No. 4, 

West Marsh Island No. 6, Bull No. 1, Cowhead 
Shoal Range Lights, and Wappoo Cut Light 
No. 2, S.C . 

13. Fig Island Range Lights, Ga 

14. Fort Clinch Range Lights, and Tiger Island 

Range Lights, Fla 

15. *Fort Ripley Shoal L. S., S. C 

16. *Fort Sumter L. S., S. C 

17. Georgetown L. S. and North Island Light, S. C. . 

18. Hillsboro Inlet Light Station, Fla. (2) 

19. Hilton Head Range L. S., S. C. (1) 

20. Hunting Island L. S., S.C. (2) 

21. Jupiter Inlet L. S., Fla. (2) 

22. Little Cumberland^ Island L. S. (1) and St. 

Andrew Sound Light, Ga 

23. Lower Flats Range, Elba Island (3), and Upper 

Flats Range Lights, S. C. and Ga 

24. Mosquito Inlet L. S., Fla. (2) 

25. Mount Pleasant Range L. S., S. C. (front and 

rear), also has charge of — 

Moultrieville, Sham Creek 

Hog Island Channel, No. 1 and 2 

Shutes Folly Island Spit, No. 3 

26. Paris Island Range L. S., S. C. (1) 

27. Plantation Creek Range, Jekyl Island Range, 

Colonels Island Range, Brunswick Harbor 
Range, Jekyl Creek Jetty Range Lights, Ga. . 

28. St. Augustine L. S., Fla. (2) 

29. St. Johns River L. S. (St. Johns Entrance Range 

rear) and St. Johns Entrance Range Front 
Light, Fla 

30. St. Simons L. S. and St. Simons Beacon Light, 

Ga.(l) 



(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers) 
* Also fog-signal station. 



197 



35a 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued . 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

6. Sixth district, Charleston, S. C. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 

1. Light stations proper— Continued. 

31. Sampit River Range Lights, Rabbit Island 

Light No. 2, Waccamaw Shoal Light No. 4, and 
Mother Bunch Light No. 9, S. C 

32. Sapelo L. S., Ga 

32. South Channel Range Lights, Charleston Harbor, 

Sullivans Island Cover Lights Nos. 1 and 2, 
and Sullivans Island Breakwater Light, S. C. . 

34. South Jetty Channel Range, and Middle Ground 

(1) Channel Range Lights, Entrance to Win- 
yahBay, S. C 

35. Tybee, L. S., Ga. (2) 

36. Tybee Range Front Light, Oyster Beds (1) 

Range, Ga., and Jones Island Range L. S., S. C. 

37. Tybee Knoll Cut Range, New Channel Range, 

and Long Island Crossing Range Lights, Ga. 

(1) 

38. Winyah Bay South Jetty South Island, Mos- 

quito Creek, No. 1, Esterville Canal, Harriet 
Hill, Marsh Islands Range and Frazier Point 
Range Lights, S. C 

2. Lights 1 

1. Attended lights— 153 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1 For location and description of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation see official 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 
(1} Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



198 



36 



page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. B mean of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

6. Sixth district, Charleston, S. C. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Campbell Island, N. C. (Wilmington) 

2. Federal Point, N. C. (Southport) 

3. Ortons Point, N. C .(Southport). 

4. Prices Creek, N. C. (Southport) 

5. Upper Jetty, N. C. (Wilmington) 

6. Mount Pleasant, S. C. (Charleston) 

7. North Island, S. C. (Georgetown) 

8. Three Pines Thomas Island, S. C. (Charleston) 

9. Williams Island, S. C. (Savannah, Ga.) 

10. White Point Garden, S. C. (Charleston) 

11. Savannah (Bay Street), Ga. (Savannah) 

12. Wolf Island, Ga. (Darien) 

13. Moms Island, S. C. (Charleston) 

14. Cumberland Island, south end, Ga. (Fernandina, Fla.). 



199 



37 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

7. Seventh district, Key West, Fla. 

1. Inspector 

2. Superintendent in charge 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



38 
39 
40 
41 



200 



38 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

7. Seventh district, Key West, Fla. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Egmont Key, Fla 

2. Key West, Fla 

3. Pensacola, Fla 



201 



39 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

7. Seventh district, Key West, Fla. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 
1. Mangrove (steamer, screw). 



202 



40 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

7. Seventh district, Key West, Fla 

7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 



Alafia River and Hillsboro Lights Nos. 2, 4, 6, 1, 
3, 5, 7, , 8, 9 and 10, Fla. 

2. Alligator Reef L. S., Fla. (2) 

3. American Shoal L. S., Fla. (2) 

4. Anolote Keys L. S. and Anolote River Light No. 

l,Fla.(l) 

5. Big Marco Pass Light, Fla. (2) 

6. Cape Florida Shoal and Biscayne Channel 

Lights, Fla 

7. Carysport Reef L.S., Fla, (2) 

8. Cedar Keys L. S. (1) and Turning Point Light, 

Fla 

9. Charlotte Harbor L. S., Cut F Range, 

10. Cut E Range, Cut F Range, South Cut Lower 

No. 6, South Cut Upper No. 8, and North Cut 
Lower No. 10 Lights, Fla. (Destroyed Feb- 
ruary 2, 1910; may be rebuilt.) 

11. Dry Tortugas L. S., Fla. (2) 

12. East Washerwoman Shoal Light, Fla 

13. Edgemont Key L. S., Fla, (1) 

14. Fowey Rocks L. S., Fla. (2) 

15. Gasparilla Island Range L. S., Fla. (1) 

16. Key West L. S. and Key West Main Ship Chan- 

nel Range Lights, Fla. (1) 

17. Key West L. H. Depot (2) 

18. Mangrove Point Light, Fla 

19. Mosquito Bank Light, Fla 

20. Nine Foot Shoal Light, La 

21. Northwest Passage L. S. and Northwest Bar 

Light, Fla. (1) 

22. Peace Creek Light, Fla 

23. Rebecca Shoal L. S., Fla. (2) 

24. Sand Key L. S., Fla. (2) 

25. Sanibel Island L. S. and Puntarasa Range 

Lights, Fla. (1) 

26. Snead Point Shoal, Manatee River Cut, Terra- 

ceia Point No. 1 , and Bird Kev No. 9 Lights, 
Fla 

27. Sombrebro Key L. S., Fla. (2) 

28. South West Channel, Mullet Key Shoal, Point 

Pinelos, and Cut "C" Ranee Lights, Fla... 

29. Tortugas Harbor L. S., Fla. 

30. Withlacoochee River L. S., Fla 

Lights 1 

1. Attended lights (1) 

1. Laborer in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

Buoys, daymarks, etc 



1 For location and description of lights, buoys, and daymarks, see official lists published by the Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 



203 



41 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

7. Seventh district, Key West, Fla. 
§. Reservations. 

1. Cape Romano, Fla. (Naples) 

2. Estero Island, Fla. (Naples) 

3. Captive Island (Charlotte Harbor), Fla. (Sanibel 

Island) 

4. La Costa Island, Fla. (Punta Island) 

5. St. Andrews Bay, Fla. (St. Andrew) 

6. Soldiers Key, Fla. (Cocoanut Grove) 

7. West Sambo, Fla. (Key West) 



204 



42 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 



43 
44 
45 
Reservations j 46 



205 



43 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Fort San Jacinto, Tex. . . 

2. Mobile, Ala 

3. Port Eads, La 



206 



44 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Arbutus (steamer, screw) 

2. Camelia (steamer, screw) 

3. Magnolia (steamer, screw) 

2. Vessels 

1. South Pass, La. (composition), No. 42 

2. Heald Bank, Tex. (steel), No. 81 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 14 207 



45 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations ■ 

1. * Amite River L. S., Fla 

2. Apalachicola Range and Outer Lights, Fla 

3. Aransas Pass L. S., Tex. (1) 

4. Barataria Bay L. S., La 

5. Battery Gladeen and Mobile Ship Channel Lights, 

Ala. (1) 

6. BayOu St. John L. S., La 

7. BiloxiL. S., La 

8. Biloxi Harbor Lights, A, B, C, and D, Miss 

9. Bolivar Point L. S., Tex. (1) 

10. Brazos River L. S., Tex. (1) 

11. Brazos Santiago L. S., Tex. (1) 

12. Calcasieu Range L. S., La 

13. Cape St. George L. S., West Pass Cut Range, 

Sand Island Cut Range, and St. George Lights, 
Fla. (1) 

14. Cape San Bias L. S., Fla. (1) 

15. Carrabelle River Bar Range Lights, Fla 

16. Cat Island L. S., Miss 

17. ChandeleurL. S., La. (2) 

18. * Chefuncte River Range L. S., La 

19. Choctawhatchee River Light, Fla 

20. Choctawhatchee East Pass Range Lights, Fla. . . 

21. Crooked River Range L. S., Fla. (1) 

22. * Cubits Gap L. S., La 

23. Deer Point Light and Fair Point Light, Fla 

24. Escribano Point Light, Fla 

25. Fort Barrancas Range L. S., and Pensacola Bay 

Range Front Light, Fla 

26. Fort McRee Cutoff Range Rear, Caucus Cut 

and Pensacola Bay Range Rear, and Caucus 
Cut and Fort McRee Cutoff Range Front 
Lights, Fla. (1) 

27. * Galveston Harbor L. S., Tex. (2) 

28. Gulfport Channel Lights Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 

10, Miss. (1) 

29. Halfmoon Reef L. S., Tex 

30. * Head of Passes L. S. and Head of Passes East 

and West Jetty Lights, La. (1) 

31. Horn Island L. S., Miss. (1) 

32. LakeBorgneL. S., Miss. (1) 

33. Matagorda L. S., Tex. (1) 

34. * Merrill Shell Bank L. S., Miss. (1) 

35. Mobile Point L. S. and Mobile Point Beacon 

Light, Ala 

36. * New Canal L. S., La 

37. Oyster Bayou L. S., La 

38. Pascagoula River Lights, Miss 

39. Pascagoula River Range and Pascagoula River 

Entrance Lights A, B, C, D, and E, Miss. (1)... 

40. Pass A Loutre L. S., La. (1) 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station, 



208 



45a 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — -Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 
1. Light stations — Continued. 

41. * Pass Manchac L. S., Pass Manchac Bar East 
and South Channel Lights, and Tangipahoa 

River Light, La. (1) 

Pensacola L. S., Fla 

Point Isabel L. S., Tex 

Pointe Aux Herbes L. S., La 

Port Eads Lighthouse Depot, La 

Port Pontchartrain L. S., La 

* Red Fish Bar Cut L. S. and Red Fish Bar and 
Galveston Bay No. 2 Lights, Tex. (1) 

Round Island L. S., Round Island South Spit, 
and Round Island Spit Lights, Miss. (1) 

St. Andrews Bar Range (Front and Rear) 

St. Andrews Bay Range (Front and Rear) Lights, 
Fla 

St. Joseph Point Range L. S., Fla. (1) 

St. Marks L. S., Fla 

Sabine Bank L. S., Tex. (3) 

53. Sabine Pass L. S., La. (1) 

54. Sabine Pass East Jetty, Entrance Range, Inner 
Range, and Sabine Pass Lights, La., and Port 
Arthur Canal Light, Tex. (1) 

Sand Island Range L. S., Ala. (2) 

Santa Rosa Sound Range Lights, Fla 

Ship Island L. S., South Channel Range Lights, 
Miss 

58. Ship Shoal L. S., La. (3) 

59. * Six Foot Spot, Porter Bar, and Bulkhead Cut 
Range Lights, Fla 

* South Pass East Jetty L. S., South Pass West 
Jettv Range, and South Pass Range Front 
Lights, La. (1) 

South Pass Range Rear L. S., La. (2) 

Southwest Pass L. S., and Southwest Pass East 
and West Jetty Lights, La. (2) 

* Southwest Reef L. S., La. (1) 

Timbalier L. S., La. (1) 

White Point, Middle and Devile Point Lights, 

Fla 

66. West Rigolets L. S., La 

Lights 1 

1. Attended lights, 54 

1 . Laborers in charge 

2. L'nattended lights 

Buoys, daymarks, etc 



42. 
43. 

44. 
45. 
46. 
47. 

48. 

49. 



50. 
51. 

52. 



55. 
56. 

57. 



60. 



61. 
62. 

63. 

64. 
65. 



i For location and description of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see official lists 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



209 



46 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

8. Eighth district, New Orleans, La. 
8. Reservations. _ 

1. Petit Bois Island, Miss. (Scranton) 

2. St. Joseph Island, Miss. (Rigolets, La.) 

3. Northeast Pass (Franks Island), La. (Venice). . . . 

4. Proctorville (Pelican Spit), La. (Rigolets, La.)... 

5. Southeast Pass, La. (Venice) 

6. Tower Dupie (Fort), La. (New Orleans) 

7. Trinity Shoal, La. (Berwick) 

8. Vermilion Bay, La. (Cypremort Station) 

9. Cloppers Bar (Galveston Bay), Tex. (Galveston). 

10. Corpus Christi, Tex. (Corpus Christi) 

11. East Shoal, Tex. (Port Lavaca) 

12. Gallaniper Point, Tex. (Port Lavaca) 

13. Galveston, Tex. (Galveston) 

14. Padre Island, Tex. (Port Isabel) 

15. Pelican Spit (Galveston Bay), Tex. (Galveston).. 

16. Rio Grande, Tex. (Brownsville) 

17. Salucia, Tex. (Port Lavaca) 

18. Swash Channel, Tex. (Port Lavaca) 

19. West Shoal, Tex. (Port Lavaca) 



210 



47 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

9. Ninth district, San Juan, P. R. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent in charge 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 

7. • Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



48 

49 
50 
51 



211 



48 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

9. Ninth district, San Juan, P. R. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. San Juan, P. R 

2. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 



212 



49 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

9. Ninth district, San Juan, P. R. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Ivy (steamer, screw). 



213 



50 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

9. Ninth district, San Juan, P. R. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. AreciboL. S., P. R. (1) 

2. Cabras Island L. S., P. R 

3. CapeRojoL. S., P. R. (1) 

4. Cape San Juan L. S., P. R. (1) 

5. Cardona Island L. S. and Ponce Harbor Range 

Lights, P. R 

6. Catano Range and Anegado Shoal Range Lights, 

P.R.(l) 

7. Culebrita Island L. S., P. R. (1) 

8. GuanicaL. S., P. R 

9. Jobos Harbor L. S., P. R 

10. Mayaguez Harbor Range L. S., P. R 

11. Mona Island L. S., P. R. (2) 

12. Muertos Island L. S., P. R. (1) 

13. Point Borinquen L. S., P. R. (1) 

14. Point Figuras L. S., P. R 

15. Point Jiguero L. S., P. R 

16. PointMulasL. S., P. R 

17. PortFerroL. S., P. R 

18. Port San Juan L. S., P. R. (1) 

19. Point Tuna L. S., P. R. (1) 

20. Windward Point |L. 8., Hicacal Point L. S., and 

Fisherman Point Range Lights, Cuba (2) 

2. Lights 1 „ 

1 . Attended lights 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



1 For location and description of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see official lists 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 



214 



51 



Refer- 
ence 

page 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

9. Ninth district, San Juan, P. R. 
8. Reservations. 

No reservations in this district. 



215 



52 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent in charge 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



53 
54 
55 
56 



216 



53 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Buffalo, N. Y 

2. Erie, Pa 

3. Maumee Bay, Ohio. . . 

4. Rock Island, N. Y... 

5. Sandusky Bay, Ohio.. 



217 



54 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Crocus (steamer, screw). 



21* 



55 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. Ashtabula Harbor Range L. S., Ohio (1) 

2. Braddock Point, N. Y 

3. Buffalo L. S. and Buffalo North (1) Breakwater 

South End Light, N. Y. (1) 

4. ^Buffalo Breakwater south entrance, north side 

light and Buffalo Breakwater, south entrance, 
south side, L. S., N. Y. (1) 

5. ^Buffalo Breakwater, North End L. S., N. Y. (1). . 

6. Cape Vincent Breakwater Lights, N. Y 

7. Carleton Island, L. S., N. Y 

8. *Cleveland West Breakwater east end L. S., 

Cleveland East Breakwater, west end, Cleve- 
land East and West Breakwater Pierhead 
Lights, and Cleveland East and West Pier 
Lights, Ohio (3) 

9. *Conneaut Harbor Range Front L. S 

10. Cross-over Island L. S., N. Y 

11. *Detroit River L. S., Mich. (2) 

12. Dunkirk L. S. and Dunkirk Pierhead Light, 

N. Y. (1) 

13. Ecorse Range L. S., Mich 

14. *Fair Haven Range L. S , 

15. Fairport L. S. and Fairport Pierhead Range 

Lights, Ohio (1) , 

16. Fort Niagara L. S. , N . Y 

17. *Galloo Island L. S., N.J 

18. *Genesee East Pier Light and Genesee L. S., 

N. Y. (1) 

19. Grassy Island South Channel Range, Mich 

20. Grassy Island North Channel Range L. S., Mich. . 

21. Green Island L. S., Ohio 

22. Grosse Isle North Channel Range L. S., Mich 

23. Grosse Isle South Channel Range L. S., Mich. . . 

24. Horseshoe Reef L. S., N.ff" 

25. Huron L. S., Ohio 

26. Lorain East and West Breakwater Pierhead 

Lights and Lorain Range L. S., Ohio (1) 

27. Manhattan Range L. S., Ohio 

28. Marblehead L. S., Ohio (1) 

29. Maumee Bay Range L. S., Ohio 

30. Monroe L. S., Mich 

31. Niagara River Range L. S., N. Y 

32. Oak Orchard L. S., N. Y 

33. OgdensburgL. S., N. Y 

35. OlcottL. S., N. Y 

36. *Oswego L. S., N. Y 

37. Oswego Breakwater L. S., N. Y 

38. Port Clinton L. S., Ohio 

39. Presque Isle L. S., Pa 

40. *Presque Isle Fog Signal Station; Presque Isle 

Pierhead L. S. and Erie Range Lights, Nos. 1 
and 2, Pa 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
*Also fog-signal station. 



219 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y— Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 

1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

41. Rock Island L. S., N. Y 

42. Sacketts Harbor L. S., N. Y 

43. *Sandusky Bay Inner Range L. S., Ohio 

44. Sandusky Bay Outer Range L. S., Ohio 

45. Sodus Inner L. S. and Sodus Outer L. S., N. Y. . 

46. South Bass Island L. S., Ohio 

47. Stony Point L. S., N. Y 

48. Sister Islands L. S 

49. Strawberry Island Lower Cut Range L. S., N. Y. . 

50. Strawberry Island Upper Cut Range L. S., N. Y. . 

51. Sunken Rock L. S., N. Y 

52. Thirty Mile Point L. S., N. Y 

53. *Tibbetts Point L. S., N. Y 

54. *Toledo Harbor L. S., Ohio 

55. Vermilion L. S., Ohio 

56. West Sister L. S., Ohio 

2. Lights 

1. Attended lights 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc. 1 



55a 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1 For complete list of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation (with description and location) 
see official lists published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 
* Also fog-signal station. 



220 



56 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

10. Tenth district, Buffalo, N. Y 

8. Reservations. 

1. Buffalo (Black Rock), N. Y. (Buffalo) 

2. Fair Haven, N. Y. (North Fair Haven).... 

3. Silver Creek, N. Y. (Silver Creek) 

4. Erie, Pa. (Erie) 

5. Ashtabula, Ohio (Ashtabula) 

6. Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland) 

7. Conneaut, Ohio (Conneaut) 

8. Cunningham Creek, Ohio (North Madison). 

9. Huron River, Ohio (Huron) 

10. Vermilion, Ohio (Vermilion) 

11. Otter Creek, Ohio (Monroe) 

12. Gibraltar, Mich. (Gibraltar) 



Refer- 
ence 



221 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



57 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



58 
59 
60 
61 



222 



58 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Detroit, Mich 

2. Minnesota Point, Minn.. 

3. St. Marys River, Mich... 

4. Sugar Island, Mich 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



37542— H. Doc. 670. 62-2 15 223 



59 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Aspen (steamer, screw) 

2. Forget-me-not (gasoline, screw) 

3. Marigold (steamer, screw) 

4. Aramanth (steamer, screw) 

2. Vessels 

1. Bar Point Shoal, Mich., No. 59 (wood). 

2. Lake Huron, Mich., No. 61 (wood) 

3. Poe Reef, Mich., No. 62 (wood) 

4. Grossepoint, Mich., No. 75 (wood) 

5. Martin Reef, Mich., No. 89 (steel) 



224 



60 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. *AlpenaL. S., Mich 

2. *Au Sable L. S., Mich. (2) 

3. Au Sable Pierhead Light, Mich 

4. Belle Isle L. S., Mich 

5. *Big Bay Point L. S., Mich. (2) 

6. Birch Point Range L. S., Mich 

7. Bois Blanc L. S., Mich 

8. Brush Point Range L. S., Mich 

9. Cedar Point Range L. S., Mich 

10. Charity Island L. S., Mich. (1) 

11. Cheboygan L. S., Mich. (1) 

12. Cheboygan Crib and Cheboygan River Range 

L. S.,Mich. (1) 

13. Copper Harbor L. S., Mich 

14. Copper Harbor Range L. S., Mich 

15. *Crisp Point L. S., Mich. (2) 

16. *Detour L. S., Mich. (2) 

17. *Devils Island L. S., Wis. (2) 

18. *Duluth Range L. S., Minn. (2) 

19. *Eagle Harbor L. S., Mich. (1) 

20. Eagle Harbor Range L. S., Mich 

21. *Fort Gratiot L. S., Mich. (1) 

22. *Forty-Mile Point L. S., Mich. (1) 

23. *Fourteen-Mile Point L. S., Mich. (2) 

24. Frying Pan Island L. S., Mich 

25. Grand Island L. S., Mich. (1) 

26. Grand Island Harbor Range L. S., Mich 

27. *Grand Marais Harbor of Refuge Range L. S., 

Mich 

28. *Grand Marais L. S., Minn 

29. *Granite Island L. S., Mich. (1) 

30. Gull Rock L. S., Mich. (1) 

31. *Harbor Beach Harbor of Refuge East Entrance 

North (Main) L. S., E. Entrance S. and N. 
Entrance E. and W. Lights, Mich 

32. *Huron Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

33. Isle Aux Peches Range L. S., Mich 

34. Isle Royal L. S., Mich. (1) 

35. *La Pointe L. S., and Chequamegon Point 

Light, Wis. (2) 

36. *Lily Pond S. & N. Portage Lake Ship Canals 

E. and W. Breakwater Lights, Portage Lake 
Ship Canals L.S., and Portage Lake Ship 
Canals Pierhead Light, Mich. (2) 

37. Little Rapids Cut Lights Nos. 23-26, N. Entrance 

No. 27, L. S., and Bayfield Rock Range Lights, 
Mich. (1) 

38. Mamajuda Range L. S., Mich 

39. ManitouL. S., Mich. (2) 

40. *Marquette L. S., and Marquette Breakwater 

Light, Mich. (2) 

41. MendotaL. S., Mich 



Refer- 
ence 



(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



225 



60a 

Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 
1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

42. Michigan Island L. S., Wis. (1) 

43. *Middle Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

44. ^Middle Nebish Cut Lights Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 

6, and Ranges Nos. 7 and 9, Lower Hay Lake 
Cut Range, and Lower Hay Lake Cut Light 
No. 13, St. Marys River, Mich 

45. *Munising Range L. S., Mich 

46. Ontonagon L. S., Mich 

47. *Outer Island L. S., Wis. (2) 

48. ^Passage Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

49. Pilot Island Range L. S., Mich 

50. Pipe Island L. S., Mich 

51. Pointe Aux Barques L. S., Mich. (1) 

52. *Point Iroquois L. S., Mich 

53. *Point Austin Reef L. S., Mich. (2) 

54. Fort Sanilac L. S., Mich 

55. Portage Range L. S., and Portage Range Pier- 

head Lt. , Mich 

56. Portage River Lt. No. 9 and Portage River 

Range Lights Nos. 1 to 15, and Princess Point 
L. S., Mich. (1) 

57. Portage River L. S., Mich 

58. *Presque Isle L. S., Mich. (2) 

59. Presque Isle Harbor Range L. S., Mich 

60. *Raspberry Island L. S., Wis 

61. *Rock of Ages L. S., Mich. (2) 

62. Rouleau Point Range Lights and Portage Lake 

Ship Canals Range L. S . , Mich 

63. *Round Island L. S., Mich. (Straits of Macki- 

naw) 

64. Round Island L. S., Mich. (St. Marys River) 

65. Saginaw River Range L. S., Mich. (1) 

66. *San Beach (Harbor of Refuge) East entrance 

North (Main) L. S., East Entrance South, 
and North Entrance East and West Lights, 
Mich. (2) 

67. Sand Island L. S., Mich. (1) 

68. Sand Point L. S., Mich 

69. *Spectacle Reef L. S., Mich. (3) 

70. *Split Rock L. S., Minn. (2) 

71. *Standard Rock L. S., Mich. (3) 

72. St. Clair Flats Canal Lower L. S., Mich 

73. St. Clair Flats Canal Upper L. S., Mich 

74. St. Marys Falls Canal South Pier Light, and 

Vidal Shoals Channel Range L. S., Mich. (1). . 

75. Sturgeon Point L. S., Mich 

76. ^Superior Pierhead Range L. S., Wis. (1) 

77. *TawasL. S., Mich. (2) „ 

78. *Thunder Bay Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

79. *Two Harbors L. S., and Two Harbors Break- 

water Light, Minn. (2) 

80. Windmill Point L. S., and Windmill Point 

Range Lights, Mich. (1) 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 

226 



60b 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 

1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

81. *Whitefish Point L. S., Mich. (2) 

82. Windmill Point L. S., and Windmill Point; 

Range Lights, Mich. (1) 

2. Lights l 

1. Attended lights, 49 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



1 For location and description of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation see official lists 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



227 



61 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

11. Eleventh district, Detroit, Mich. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Agate Harbor, Mich. (Eagle River) 

2. Cheneux Islands (Scammons) Mich. (St. Ignace) 

3. Clinton River, Mich. (Mount Clemens) 

4. Copper Harbor (Porter Island, western point) Mich. 

(Copper Harbor) 

5. Drumxnond Island, Mich. (Detour) 

6. Grosse Pointe, Mich. (Trenton) 

7. Gull Island near Passage, Mich. (Port Arthur) 

8. Montreal River, Mich. (Montreal) . . .■ 

9. Wood Island near Cass Bay, Mich. (Au Train) 

10. Ottawa (Towas Point) Mich. (Towas City) 

11. Grand Marais, Mich. (Eagle River) 

12. Presque Isle (island in harbor), Mich. (Marquette).. 

13. Round Island (entrance to St. Mary's River) Mich. 

(Sault Ste. Marie) 

14. Saginaw River, Mich. (Bay City) 

15. Gull Rock (small islet near Manitou Island), Mich. 

(Eagle River) 

16. Huron Bay, Mich. (Huron Bay) 

17. Gull Island, Wis. (Bayfield) 

18. Beaver Bay, Minn. (Beaver Bay) 

19. Pigeon River (Point) Minn. (Grand Marais) 

20. Michilimacinac Island, Mich. (Mackinac) 



228 



62 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, III. 

1. Inspector 

2. Superintendent in charge 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations 

8. Reservations 



63 
64 
65 
66 



229 



65 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, 111. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Charlevoix, Mich 

2. Milwaukee, Wis 

3. St. Josephs, Mich 



230 



G4 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, 111. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and 

1. Tenders 

1. Sumac (steamer, screw) 

2. Hyacinth (steamer, screw) 

3. Two Myrtles (steamer, screw) 1 

2. Vessels 

1. Lansing Shoal, Mich., No. 55 (wood) 

2. Grays Reef, Mich., No. 57 (wood) 

3. Eleven-Foot Shoal, Mich., No. 60 (wood). 

4. Peshtigo Reef, Wis., No. 77 (steel) 

5. North Manitou Shoal, Mich., No. 56 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1 To be sold. 



231 



65 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, 111. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1 . Light stations proper 

1. *Algoma Pierhead Range L. S., Wis. (1) 

2. Bailey Harbor Range L. S., Wis 

3. *Beaver Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

4. Beaver Island Harbor L. S., Mich 

5. *Big Sable L. S., Mich. (2) 

6. *Calumet Harbor L. S., 111. (2) 

7. *Calumet Pierhead L. S., 111. (1) 

8. Cana Island L. S., Wis. (1) 

9. Cedar River L. S., Mich 

10. Chambers Island L. S., Wis. (1) 

11. *Charlevoix Pierhead L. S., Mich 

12. ^Chicago Breakwater S. and Chicago Break- 

water N. Light and Chicago Pierhead Range 
L. S., 111. (2) 

13. ^Chicago Harbor L. S.and Chicago Outer Break- 

water Northwest End Light, 111. (3) 

14. Dunlap Reef Range L. S. and Sturgeon Bay 

Bridge Light, Wis 

15. Eagle Bluff L. S., Wis 

16. *EscanabaL. S., Mich 

17. *Frankfort Pierhead' Range L. S., Mich. (1) 

18. *Grand Haven Pierhead Range L. S., Mich. (2). . . 

19. *Grand Traverse L. S., Mich. (2) 

20. Grassy Island Lower and Grass Island Upper 

L. S., Elbow and Murphy's Dock Lights, Wis. 

(1) 

21. Green Island L. S., Wis. (2) 

22. *GrossePointeL. S., 111. (2) 

23. *Holland (Black Lake), Range L. S., and Middle 

Ground, Drake Point and Point Superior 
Lights, Mich. (2) 

24. *Ile Aux Gale tsL.S., Mich. (2) 

25. *Kalamazoo L. S. and Saugatuck South Pier- 

head Lights, Mich. (1) 

26. *Kenosha Breakwater Light and Kenosha L. S., 

Wis. (2) 

27. *Kewaunee Pierhead Range L. S., Wis. (2) 

28. Little Sable L.S., Mich. (1) 

29. *Little Traverse L. S., Mich 

30. *Ludington South Pierhead L. S., Ludington 

North Breakwater Light, and Ludington 
South Breakwater Light, Mich. (2) ; 

31. *Manistee L. S. and Manistee Pierhead Light, 

Mich. (3) 

32. *Manitowoc Breakwater Light and Manitowoc 

Pierhead L. S., Wis. (2) 

33. *Menominee Pierhead L. S., Michigan City 

34. *Michigan City East Pierhead L. S., Michigan 

City Breakwater, and Michigan City West 
Pierhead Lights, Ind. (2) 

35. *Milwaukee Pierhead Range L. S. and Milwau- 

kee Breakwater Light, Wis. (2) 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Fog-signal station also. 

232 



65a 



Refer- 
ence 
page 



Department of Commerce and Labor — Continued. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses — Continued. 
5. Field service — Continued. 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, 111. — Continued. 
7. Light stations and other aids — Continued. 

1. Light stations proper — Continued. 

36. Mission Point L. S., Mich 

37. *Muskegon Pierhead Range L. S. and Muskegon 

Lake and Bank Point Lights, Mich. (2) 

38. *North Manitou L. S., Mich. (2) 

39. North Point L. S., Wis 

40. *01d Mackinac Point L. S., Mich. (2) 

41. Pentwater Pierhead Range L. S., Mich 

42. Petoskey Light, Mich 

43. *Pilot Island L. S., Wis. (3) 

44. *Plum Island Range L. S., Wis. (3) 

45. *Point Betsie L. S., Mich. (2) 

46. Point Peninsular L. S., Mich 

47. Portage Lake Pierhead Range Lights, Mich 

48. Port Washington Pierhead L. S., Wis 

49. Pottawatomie L. S., Wis. (1) 

50. *Poverty Island L. S., Mich. (3) 

51. *Racine Breakwater Light and Racine Pierhead 

L.S., Wis.(l) 

52. *Racine Reef L. S., Wis. (3) 

53. *Seul Choix Pointe L. S., Mich. (2) 

54. *Sheboygan Breakwater L. and Sheboygan Pier- 

head L. S., Wis. (2) 

55. Sherwood Point L. S., Wis. (1) 

56. *South Fox Island L. S., Mich. (3) 

57. South Haven Pierhead L. S., Mich. (1) 

58. *South Manitou L. S., Mich. (2) 

59. *Squaw Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

60. Squaw Point L. S., Mich 

61. St. Helena L. S., Mich. (1) 

62. St. Joseph L. S., Mich 

63. *St. Joseph Pierhead Range L. S., Mich 

64. *St. Martin Island L. S., Mich. (2) 

65. ^Sturgeon Bay Canal Pierhead Light, Sturgeon 

Bay Canal L. S., and Sturgeon Bay Canal 
Lights, 1, 3, and 4, Wis. (3) , 

66. *TailPointL. S., Wis. (1) 

67. *Twin River Point L. S., Wis. (2) 

68. Two Rivers Pierhead L. S., Wis. (1) 

69. *Waugoshance L. S., Mich. (3) 

70. *Waukegan Harbor L. S., 111. (2) 

71. White River L. S. and White River Pierhead 

Light, Mich. (1) 

72. *White Shoal L. S., Mich. (3) 

73. *Wind Point L. S., Wis. (2) 

2. Lights * 

1. Attended lights, 6 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



1 For description and location of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation see official lists 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Fog-signal station also. 

233 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

12. Twelfth district, Chicago, 111. 
8. Reservations. 

1 . Holland , Mich . (Holland) 

2. Pentwater, Mich. (Pentwater) 

3. South Haven, Mich. (South Haven) 

4. Calumet, 111. (Chicago) 

5. Chicago, 111. (Chicago) 

6. Taylorport, 111. (Waukeegan) 

7. Manitowoc, Wis. (Manitowoc) 

8. Two Rivers. Wis. (Two Rivers) 

9. Winnebago Lake, island in the entrance into the 
mouth of Menasha, Wis. (Menasha) 



66 



Refer- 
ence 



234 



67 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

13. Thirteenth district, Rock Island, III. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. District office force 

3. Supply depots 

1. Rock Island, 111 

4. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 

1. Tenders 

1. Lily (steamer, side-wheel). 

5. Light stations and other aids 

1 . Light stations proper 1 

2. Lights 

1. Attended lights (362) 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc. 2 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



i There are no light stations in the river districts (i. e., thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth). 
2 For complete lists of these (with description and location) see official publications of the Department 
of Commerce and Labor. 



235 



68 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

14. Fourteenth district, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

1. Inspector 

2. District office force 

3. Supply depot. 

1. Cincinnati, Ohio 

4. Lighthouse tender 

1. Goldenrod (steamer, stern-wheel). 

5. Light stations and other aids 

1. Light stations proper l 

2. Lights 2 

1. Attended lights (593) 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended.... 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc 



i There are no light stations in the river districts (i. e., thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth). 
2 For complete lists of these (with description and location), see official publications of the Department 
of Commerce and Labor. 



236 



69 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

15. Fifteenth district, St. Louis, Mo. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. District office force. 

3. Supply depot. 

1, St. Louis, Mo. 

4. Lighthouse tender 

1. Oleander (steamer, stern- wheel) 

5. Light stations and other aids 

1. Light stations x 

2. Lights 2 

1. Attended lights, 560 

1. Laborers in charge. . . . 

2. Unattended 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc. 2 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



i There are no light stations in the river districts (i. e., thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth). 
2 For complete lists of these (with description and location), see official publications of the Department 
of Commerce and Labor. 



237 



70 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

16. Sixteenth district, Ketchikan, Alaska. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

1. Tonka, Alaska 

2. Ketchikan, Alaska 

6. Lighthouse tender 

1. Aimeria (steamer, screw) 

7. Light stations and other aids ] 71 

8. Reservations ''• 72 



!3S 



71 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

16. Sixteenth district, Ketchikan, Alaska. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. Cape Hinchinbrook L. S., Alaska (2) 

2. *Cape Sarichef L. S., Alaska (2) 

3. *Eldred Rock L. S., Alaska (2) 

4. *Guard Island L. S., Alaska (1) 

5. ^Lincoln Rock L. S . , Alaska (2) 

6. *Mary Island L. S., Alaska (1) 

7. Point Retreat L. S., Alaska 

8. *Scotch Cap L. S., Alaska (2) 

9. *Sentinel Island L. S., Alaska (1) 

10. Southeast Five Finger Islands, Alaska (2). 

11. Tree Point L. S., Alaska (2) 

2. Lights l 

1. Attended lights, 34 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, daymarks, etc. 1 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



1 For complete list of lights, buoys, daymarks and other aids (with description and locations), see official 
lists published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 
(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 



(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 16 239 



72 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

16. Sixteenth district, Ketchikan, Alaska. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Dutch Harbor, Alaska (Unalaska) 

2. Ugamak Island, Alaska (Dutch Harbor) 

3. Rootok Island, Alaska (Unalaska) „ 

4. Egg Island, Alaska (Unalaska) 

5. Unalga Island and Sea Gull Rock adjacent, Alaska 

(Unalaska) 

6. Pinacle entrance to Sumner Bay, Alaska (Unalaska). . 

7. Cape Edgecombe, Alaska (Sitka) 

8. Fairway Island in Peril Strait, Alaska (Sitka) 

9. Ralston Island, Alaska (Juneau) 

10. Yasha Island, Alaska (Sitka and Juneau) 

11. Abraham Islands (both islands), Alaska ( Wrangell) . . . 



240 



73 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

17. Seventeenth district, Portland, Oreg. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

7. Light stations and other aids. . . 

8. Reservations 



74 

75 
76 

77 



241 



74 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

17. Seventeenth district, Portland, Oreg. 
5. Supply depots. 

1. EdizHook 

2. Tongue Point, Oreg 

3. Portland, Oreg 



242 



75 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

17. Seventeenth district, Portland, Oreg. 
6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Heather (steamer, screw) 

2. Columbine (steamer, screw ) 

3. Manzanita (steamer, screw) 

1. Umatilla Reef,' "Wash!,' No. 67('s"teei) ." : 

2. Columbia River, Oreg., No. 88 (steel) . 

3. Swift Sure Bank, Wash., No. 93 (steel) 

4. Relief No. 50 (composition) 

5. Relief No. 92 (steel) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



243 



76 





Refer- 
ence 
page. 


Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

17. Seventeenth district, Portland, Oreg. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations nroner 




1. 


Admiralty Head L. S. , Wash 




2. 


* Browns Point L. S., Wash 




3. 


Burrows Island L. S., Wash. (1) 




4. 


* Cape Arago L. S., Oreg. (1) 




5. 


Cape Blanco L. S., Oreg. (2) 




6. 


Cape Disappointment L. S., Wash. (1) 




7. 
8. 


* Cape Flattery L. S., Wash. (2) 

Cape Meares L. S., Oreg. (2) 




9. 


* Coquille River L. S., Oreg. (1) 




10. 


* Desdemona Sands L. S., Oreg. (1) 




11. 


* Destruction Island L. S., Wash. (3) 




12. 


*EdizHookL. S., Wash. (1) 




13. 


* Grays Harbor Light No. 2 Lower, Rennies 
Island, Rennies Island Upper, South Chan- 
nel and Cow Point Lights, Wash 




14. 


Grays Harbor L. S., Wash. (2) 




15. 


Heceta Head L. S., Oreg. (2)'. 




16. 


* Marrow Stone Point L. S., Wash. 




17. 


* Muckilteo Point L. S., Wash. (1) 




18. 


* New Dungeness L. S., Wash. (2) 




19. 


North Head L. S., Wash. (2) 




20. 


* Patos Island L. S., Wash. (1) 




21. 


* Point No Point L. S., Wash. (1) 




22. 


* Point Wilson L. S., Wash. (1) 




23. 


*Robinson Point L. S., Wash. (1) 




24. 


* Semiamoo Harbor L. S. ; Wash. (1) 




25. 


* Slip Point L. S., Wash. (1) 




26. 


Smith Island L. S., Wash. (1) 




27. 


* Tillamook Rock L. S., Oreg. (4) 




28. 


* Turn Point L. S., Wash. (1) 




29. 


Umpqua River L. S., Oreg. (2) 




30. 


* Warrior Rock Light, Oreg. (1) 




31. 


* West Point L. S., Wash. (1) 




32. 
33. 


* Willamette River Range Light Station, Oreg. . 
Willapa Bay L. S., Wash. (1) 




34. 


Yamrina Head L. S.. Oree\ (2) 




2. Lights 1 




1. 


Attended lights— 190 






1. Laborers in charge 




2. 


Unattended lie-Tits 




3. Buovs davmarks. etc 











1 For description and location of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see official lists 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(4) Keeper has 4 assisatnts (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



244 



77 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

17. Seventeenth district, Portland, Oreg. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Cape Lookout, Oreg. (Tillamook) 

2. False Tillamook, Oreg. (Tillamook) 

3. Clarks Island, Wash. (Whatcom) 

4. Eliza Island, Wash. (Whatcom) 

5. Cape Johnson, Wash. (Lapush) 

6. Skip Jack Island, Wash. (Port Townsend) 

7. Point Doughty, Wash. (Whatcom) 

8. Jones Island, Wash. (Friday Harbor) 

9. Tura Island, Wash. (Friday Harbor) 

10. Davidson Rock, Wash. (Anacortes) 

11. Sucia Islands, Wash. (Whatcom) 

12. Tatugh Point on Blake Island, Wash. (South Colby). 

13. Matia Island, Wash. (Fairhaven) 

14. Belle Pock, Wash. (Anacortes) 

15. North Peapod Rock, Wash. (Anacortes) 

16. Sisters Island, Wash. (Fairhaven) 

■ 17. Puffin Island, Wash. (Fairhaven) 

18. James Island, Wash. (Anacortes) 

19. Blakely Island, Wash. (Anacortes) 

20. Deadmans Bay, Wash. (Friday Harbor) 

21. Watmough Head, Wash. (Fidalgo City) 

22. Kellet Bluff, Wash. (Roche Harbor) 

23. Ice Berg Point, Wash. (Friday Harbor) 

24. Point Lawrence, Wash. (Whatcom) 

25. Flattop Island, Wash. (Friday Harbor) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



245 



78 



Department of Com fierce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

18. Eighteenth district, San Francisco, Cal. 

1 . Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force. 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depots 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels 

7. Light stations and other aids 

8. Reservations 



Refer- 
ence 

page. 



79 

80 
81 
82 



246 



79 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

18. Eighteenth district, San Francisco, Cal 
5. Supply depots. 

1. Yerba Buena, Cal 

2. San Francisco. Cal 



247 



80 



1. Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

18. Eighteenth district, San Francisco, Cal 

6. Lighthouse tenders and vessels. 

1. Tenders 

1. Yerba Buena (gasoline, screw) 

2. Madrono (steamer, screw) 

3. Sequoia (steamer, screw) 

2. Vessels 

1. San Francisco, Cal., No. 70 (steel). 

2. Relief No. 76 (steel) 

3. Blunt's Reef, No. 83 (steel) 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



248 



SI 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

18. Eighteenth district, San Francisco, Cal. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper 

1. Angel Island L. S., Cal 

2. Alcatraz fog signal and Alcatraz L. S., Cal. (2). . 

3. *AnoNuevoL. S., Cal. (1) 

4. *Ballast Point L. S., Cal '. 

5. *Bonita Point L. S., Cal. (3).... 

6. *Cape Mendocino L. S., Cal. (2) 

7. *Carquinez Strait L. S., Cal. (1) 

8. Crescent City L. S., Cal 

9. *East Brother Island L. S., Cal. (1) 

10. *FarallonL. S., Cal. (3) 

11. *Fort Point L. S., Cal. (2) 

12. *Humbolt L. S., Cal. (2) 

13. *Humbolt Bay Range L. S., Cal. 

14. *Line Point L. S., Cal. (1) 

15. *Mare Island L. S., Cal. (1) 

16. *Mile Rocks L. S., Cal. (2) 

17. "^Oakland Harbor L. S. and Oakland Harbor, 

South Jetty Light, Cal. (1) 

18. *Piedras Blancas L. S., Cal. (3) 

19. *Pigeon Point L. S., Cal. (3) 

20. *Point Arena L. S., Cal. (3) 

21. *Point Arguello L. S., Cal. (2) 

22. *Point Cabrillo L. S., Cal. (2) 

23. *Point Conception L. S., Cal. (3) 

24. Point Fermin L. S., Cal 

25. Point Hueneme L. S., Cal 

26. Point Loma L. S., Cal. (1) 

27. *Point Montara L. S., Cal. (1) 

28. *Point Reves L. S., Cal. (3) 

29. *PointSur L. S., Cal. (3) 

30. *Punta Gordo L. S., Cal. (2) 

31. *Roe Island L. S., Point Edith, Middle Point, 

and State Point Lights, Cal. (1) 

32. *St. George Reef L. S., Cal. (4) 

33. San Diego Bay Beacon Lights, Cal 

34. *San Luis Obispo L. S., Cal. (2) 

35. San Pedro Bay Lights, Cal 

36. Santa Barbara L. S. , Cal 

37. Santa Cruz L. S., Cal 

38. ^Southampton Shoal L. S., Cal. (1) 

39. *Trinidad Head L. S., Cal 

40. *Yerba Buena L. S., Cal 

41. Point PinosL. S., Cal 

2. Fog-signal station proper 

1. Humboldt Bay Fog Signal Station, Cal 

1. Keeper 

2. Assistant keeper 

3. Lights x 

1. Attended lights, 21 

1. Laborers in charge . . .' 

2. Unattended lights 

4. Buoys, daymarks, etc - 



1 For description and location of lights, buoys, daymarks, and other aids to navigation, see official list 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(3) Keeper has 3 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 

(4) Keeper has 4 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 
* Also fog-signal station. 



249 



82 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

18. Eighteenth district, San Francisco, Cal. 
8. Reservations. 

1. Anacapa Island (east end), Cal. (Hueneme) 

2. Anacapa Island (west end), Cal. (Hueneme) 

3. Anita Kock, Cal. (San Francisco) 

4. Battery Point, Cal. (San Francisco) 

5. Humboldt Harbor, Cal. (Humboldt) 

6. Santa Barbara Island , Cal. (San Pedro) 

7. Island at west entrance San Clemen te, Cal. (San Diego) 

8. Island at entrance Cuylers Harbor, Cal. (Santa Bar- 

bara) 

9. Point Buchon, Cal. (Port Hartford) 

10. Point Gorda (Cape San Martin), Cal. (Mansfield or 

Gorda) 

11. Point Sal, Cal. (Port Hartford) 

12. Point St. George, Cal. (Crescent City) 

13. San Clemente, Cal. (San Diego) 

14. San Nicolas Island, Cal. (San Pedro) 

15. Shelter Cove, Cal. (Femdale) 

16. Whalers Island, Cal. (San Luis Obispo) 



250 



S3 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 

Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

19. Nineteenth district, Honolulu, Hawaii. 

1. Inspector in charge 

2. Superintendent 

3. District office force 

4. Construction and repair 

5. Supply depot 

1. Honolulu, Hawaii 

6. Lighthouse tenders 

1. Kukui (steamer, screw) 

7. Light stations ! 84 

8. Reservations [ 85 



251 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

19. Nineteenth district, Honolulu, Hawaii. 
7. Light stations and other aids. 

1. Light stations proper ' 

1. Alia Point L. S., Hawaii 

2. Barbers Point L. S., Hawaii 

3. Diamond Head L. S., Hawaii 

4. Honolulu Harbor L. S., Honolulu Harbor, chan- 

nel lights 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 and Honolulu Fort 
Street Light, Hawaii (1) 

5. Kahala Light, Hawaii 

6. Kailua L. S., Hawaii 

7. Ka Lae L. S., Hawaii 

8. Kanahena Point L. S., Hawaii 

9. Kauhola Point Light, Hawaii 

10. Kauiki Head Light, Hawaii 

11 . Kawaihae Light, Hawaii 

12. Kaehole Point L. S., Hawaii 

13. Laeo Ka Laau Point L. S., Hawaii 

14. Lahainia Light, Hawaii 

15. Laupahoehoe Point Light, Hawaii 

16. Makahuena Point Light, Hawaii 

17. Makapuu Point L. S., Hawaii (2) 

18. McGregor Point L. S., Hawaii 

19. Molokai L. S., Hawaii (2) 

20. Nakalele Head L. S., Hawaii 

21. Napoopoo Light, Hawaii. 

22. Paukaa Point Light, Hawaii 

23. Pauwala Point L. S., Hawaii 

24. Nawiliwili Harbor L. S . , Hawaii 

2. Lights 

1. Attended lights (17) 

1. Laborers in charge 

2. Unattended lights 

3. Buoys, day marks, etc. 1 



84 



Infer- 
ence 
page. 



1 For description and location of lights, buoys, day marks, and other aids to navigation, see official list 
published by the Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(1) Keeper has 1 assistant. 

(2) Keeper has 2 assistants (assistants proper, or laborers). 



252 



85 



Refer- 
ence 
page. 



Department of Commerce and Labor. 
2. Bureau of Lighthouses. 
5. Field service. 

19. Nineteenth district, Honolulu, Hawaii. 
8. Reservations. 

No reservations in this district. 



253 



254 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

COMPILATION OF LAWS RELATING TO THE SERVICE. 

The following compilation does not include the provisions of law 
providing for the establishment of aids to navigation on various rivers, 
nor the laws authorizing the establishment of particular lighthouses, 
lightships, etc.: 

AN ACT To authorize additional aids to navigation in the Lighthouse Establishment, 
and to provide for a Bureau of Lighthouses in the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, and for other purposes. [Approved June 17, 1910. (36 Stat., 534.)] 

Sec 4. That hereafter there shall be in the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor a Bureau of Lighthouses and a Commissioner of 
Lighthouses, who shall be the head of said bureau, to be appointed by 
the President, who shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per 
annum. There shall also be in the bureau a deputy commissioner, 
to be appointed by the President, who shall receive a salary of four 
thousand dollars per annum, and a chief clerk, who shall perform the 
duties of chief clerk and such other duties as may be assigned to him 
by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor or by the commissioner. 
There shall also be in the bureau such inspectors, clerical assistants, 
and other employees as may from time to time be authorized by 
Congress, and there shall also be employed one chief constructing 
engineer at a salary of four thousand dollars per annum, and one super- 
intendent of naval construction at a salary of three thousand dollars 
per annum, both to be appointed by the President. The Commis- 
sioner of Lighthouses shall make an annual report to the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor, who shall transmit the same to Congress at 
the beginning of each regular session thereof; and such commissioner, 
subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, is 
hereby authorized to consider, ascertain, adjust, and determine all 
claims for damages, where the amount of the claim does not exceed 
the sum of five hundred dollars, hereafter occasioned by collisions, 
for which collisions vessels of the Lighthouse Service shall be found 
to be responsible, and report the amounts so ascertained and deter- 
mined to be due the claimants to Congress at each session thereof 
through the Treasury Department for pavment as legal claims out 
of appropriations that may be made by Congress therefor. 

Sec 5. That all employees of or in the Lighthouse Board or the 
Lighthouse Establishment are hereby transferred to the Bureau of 
Lighthouses, excepting, however, Army and Navy officers. 

Sec 6. That all duties performed and all power and authority now 
possessed or exercised by the Lighthouse Board, under any provision 
of law not hereby repealed, are hereby transferred to and imposed 
and conferred upon and vested in the Commissioner of Lighthouses, 
under the direction and control of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor. 

Sec 7. That the commissioner of lighthouses shall, under the 
direction and control of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, have 
charge and control of the construction, maintenance, repair, illumina- 
tion, inspection, and superintendence of lighthouse depots, supply 
stations, light and signal stations, lighthouses, light vessels, light- 
house tenders, fog signals, submarine signals, beacons, buoys, day 
marks, post-lantern lights, and seamarks and their appendages, and 
generally of the Lighthouse Service, and the charge and custody of 
all the archives, books, documents, drawings, models, returns, appa- 
ratus, and other things appertaining to the Lighthouse Establishment. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 255 

Sec 8. That all materials for construction, maintenance, repair, 
and operation shall be procured by public contracts, under such regu- 
lations as may from time to time be prescribed by the commissioner, 
subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and 
no contract shall be made except after public advertisement for pro- 
posals in such form and manner as to secure general notice thereof, 
and the same shall only be made with the lowest and best bidder 
therefor, upon security deemed sufficient in the judgment of the com- 
missioner of lighthouses; but all bids may at any time be rejected 
by the commissioner: Provided, however, That the commissioner of 
lighthouses may purchase illuminating oil, wicks, and chimneys for 
lights, and ground tackle for light vessels and buoys, and to an 
amount not exceeding five hundred dollars at any one time, other 
materials and supplies when immediate delivery is required by an 
exigency, by private contract or in the open market, if he deems it 
for the best interests of the service so to do ; but such purchases shall 
be set forth in the annual report of the commissioner with the reasons 
for purchasing other than upon bids after public advertisement. 

Sec. 9. That the commissioner, under the direction of the Secretary 
of Commerce and Labor, is authorized, whenever an appropriation is 
made by Congress for a new lighthouse, the proper site for which does 
not belong to the United States, to purchase the necessary land for 
such site, provided the purchase money be paid from the amount 
appropriated for such lighthouse without exceeding the limit of cost, 
if any, fixed in such case; and the commissioner of lighthouses is 
authorized to employ temporarily draftsmen for the preparation of 
plans for tenders and light vessels which may be authorized by Con- 
gress, to be paid from the respective appropriations therefor. 

Sec. 10. That the commissioner of lighthouses, under the direction 
and control of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, shall, from time 
to time, prescribe and distribute such regulations as he may deem 
proper for securing an efficient, uniform, and economic administra- 
tion of the Lighthouse Service. 

Sec. 11. That the commissioner of lighthouses, subject to the 
approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, as soon as prac- 
ticable, shall rearrange the ocean, gulf, and lake coasts and the rivers 
of the United States, Porto Rico, and the naval station in Cuba into 
not exceeding nineteen lighthouse districts, and a lighthouse inspector 
shall be assigned in charge of each district. The lighthouse inspectors 
shall each receive a salary of two thousand four hundred dollars per 
annum, except the inspector of the third district, whose salary shall 
be three thousand six hundred dollars per annum. The President 
may, for a period not exceeding three years from the taking effect of 
this section, assign Army and Navy officers to act in lieu of the appoint- 
ment of civilian lighthouse inspectors ; but such Army and Navy officers 
shall not receive any salary or compensation in addition to the salary 
or compensation they are entitled to as such Army or Navy officers: 
Provided, That in the districts which include the Mississippi River 
and its tributaries the President may designate Army engineers to 
perform the duties of and act as inspectors. The President may 
detail officers of the Engineer Corps of the United States Army for 
consultation or to superintend the construction or repair of any aid 
to navigation authorized by Congress. 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 17 



256 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Sec. 12. That all unexpended appropriations which shall be avail- 
able at the time when this act takes effect, in relation to the Light- 
house Board, the Lighthouse Establishment, and the Lighthouse 
Service, shall be available from the time that this act takes effect for 
expenditures in and by the Bureau of Lighthouses, and shall be 
treated the same as though the Bureau of Lighthouses had been 
named directly in the acts making said appropriations. 

Sec. 13. That sections forty-six hundred and fifty- three, forty-six 
hundred and fifty-four, forty-six hundred and fifty-five, forty-six 
hundred and fifty-six, forty-six hundred and fifty-seven, forty-six 
hundred and fifty-eight, forty-six hundred and fifty-nine, forty-six 
hundred and sixty, forty-six hundred and sixty-three, forty-six 
hundred and sixty-four, forty-six hundred and sixty-five, forty-six 
hundred and sixty-six, forty-six hundred and sixty-seven, forty-six 
hundred and sixty-nine, forty-six hundred and seventy, and forty-six 
hundred and seventy-one of the Revised Statutes of the United 
States are hereby repealed. 

Sec. 14. That sections four to thirteen, inclusive, of this act, 
shall take effect on the first day of July next succeeding its passage. 

(The Lighthouse Establishment having been transferred to the 
Department of Commerce and Labor, pursuant to the act of Feb. 
14, 1903 (32 Stat., 825), and the Lighthouse Board having been 
abolished and the Bureau of Lighthouses created by the act of 
June 17, 1910 (36 Stat., 534), the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
succeeded to the duties of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the 
Commissioner of Lighthouses to the duties of the Lighthouse Board, 
in connection with the work of the Lighthouse Establishment.) 

' REVISED STATUTES. 

Sec. 4661. No lighthouse, beacon, public piers, or landmark shall 
be built or erected on any site until cession of jurisdiction over the 
same has been made to the United States. 

Sec. 4662. A cession by a State of jurisdiction over a place selected 
as the site of a lighthouse, or other structure or work of the Lighthouse 
Establishment, shall be deemed sufficient within the preceding section, 
notwithstanding it contains a reservation that process issued under 
authority of such State may continue to be served within such place. 
And notwithstanding any such cession of jurisdiction contains no 
such reservation, all process may be served and executed within the 
place ceded, in the same manner as if no cession had been made. 

Sec. 4668. Whenever any of the light vessels occupying positions 
which are adapted to the erection of lighthouses upon pile foundations 
require to be rebuilt, or require such extensive repairs as to render 
the substitution of such lighthouses advisable and practicable, such 
permanent structures may be erected in place of any such light 
vessels; but the expense arising from all such changes and erections 
shall be defrayed from the general annual appropriations for repairs, 
and so forth, of light vessels, except when a special appropriation is 
made for such change. 

Sec. 4672. The Secretary of the Treasury shall assign to any of 
the collectors of the customs the superintendence of such lighthouses, 
beacons, lightships, and buoys, as he deems best; but no person 
whose compensation as collector of customs exceeds three thousand 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 257 

dollars a year shall receive any compensation as disbursing agent for 
the Lighthouse Establishment, whether the sums disbursed by him 
be for articles to be used or services rendered within or without the 
limits of his superintendency or collection district: Provided, That 
where the compensation of any collector as disbursing agent is not 
more than three thousand dollars a year, such agent shall receive for 
such services not more than four hundred dollars in any fiscal year. 

Sec 4673. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to regulate 
the salaries of the respective keepers of lighthouses in such manner 
as he deems just and proper, but the whole sum allowed for such 
salaries shall not exceed an average of six hundred dollars to each 
keeper. 

Sec. 4674. The Secretary of the Treasury may, upon the recom- 
mendation of the Lighthouse Board, discontinue from time to time 
such lights as may from any cause become useless or unnecessary. 
And he may, upon the like recommendation, from time to time 
reestablish any lights which have been thus discontinued, whenever 
he believes such reestablishment to be required by public convenience 
or the necessities of trade or commerce. 

Sec. 4676. The Lighthouse Board may, when they deem it is nec- 
essary, place a light vessel, or other suitable warning of danger, on 
or over any wreck or temporary obstruction to the entrance of any 
harbor, or in the channel or fairway of any bay or sound. 

Sec. 4677. The Lighthouse Board shall properly mark all pierheads 
belonging to the United States situated on the northern and north- 
western lakes, whenever the board is duly notified by the department 
charged with the construction or repair of pierheads that the construc- 
tion or repair of any such pierheads has been completed. 

Sec. 4678. All buoys along the coast, or in bays, harbors, sounds, 
or channels, shall be colored and numbered, so that passing up the 
coast or sound, or entering the bay, harbor, or channel, red buoys 
with even numbers shall be passed on the starboard hand, black 
buoys with uneven numbers on the port hand, and buoys with red and 
black stripes on either hand. Buoys in channel ways shall be colored 
with alternate white and black perpendicular stripes. 

Sec. 4679. No additional salary shall be allowed to any civil, mili- 
tary, or naval officer on account of his being employed on the Light- 
house Board, or being in any manner attached to the Lighthouse 
Service. 

Sec. 4680. No member of the Lighthouse Board, inspector, light 
keeper, or other person in any manner connected with the Lighthouse 
Service, shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any con- 
tract for labor, materials, or supplies for the Lighthouse Service, or 
in any patent, plan, or mode of construction or illumination, or in 
any article of supply for the Lighthouse Service. 

STATUTES AT LARGE. 

[Act of June 23, 1874 (18 Stat., 217-220).] 

The jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Board, created by the act entitled 
"An 'act making appropriations for lighthouses, lightboats, buoys, 
and so forth, and providing for the erection and establishment of the 
same, and for other purposes" approved August thirty-first, eighteen 
hundred and fifty-two, is hereby extended over the Mississippi, Ohio, 



258 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

and Missouri Rivers, for the establishment of such beacon lights, day 
beacons, and buoys as may be necessary for the use of vessels navi- 
gating those streams; and for this purpose the said board is hereby 
required to divide the designated rivers into one or two additional 
lighthouse districts, to be in all respects similar to the already exist- 
ing lighthouse districts; and is hereby authorized to lease the neces- 
sary ground for all such lights and beacons as are used to point out 
changeable channels, and which in consequence can not be made 
permanent. 

That whenever it may become necessary, in the adjustment of 
boundary lines, or in the opening or changing of necessary roadways 
affecting lands belonging to the United States and used for the pur- 
poses of the lighthouse establishments at Staten Island, New York, 
and at the Highlands of Navesink, New Jersey, or any part thereof, 
the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to execute for such 
purposes touching the property above referred to, or any part thereof, 
the necessary conveyances and assurances, and to receive, in consid- 
eration thereof, such other conveyances or assurances of adjoining 
lands, or of lands in the immediate vicinity, or other consideration, 
as may be agreed upon. 

That the Secretary of the Treasury shall have power to order the 
sale at auction, after due public notice, of any real estate or other 
property pertaining to the lighthouse establishment no longer required 
for lighthouse purposes; the proceeds of such sales, after the payment 
therefrom of the expenses of making the same, to be deposited and 
covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, as now provided 
by law in like cases. 

[Act of June 16, 1880 (21 Stat., 262.)] 

And so much of section forty-six hundred and seventy-two of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States as provides compensation to 
collectors of the customs for services as superintendents of lights or 
as disbursing agents for the lighthouse establishment is hereby 
repealed. 

That masters of lighthouse tenders shall have police powers in 
matters pertaining to Government property and smuggling. 

[Act of July 7, 1884 (23 Stat., 198).] 

That hereafter it shall be the duty of the Lighthouse Board to apply 
the money appropriated, other than for surveys, as far as can be 
without detriment to the interests of the Government, by contract. 

[Act of June 20, 1906 (34 Stat., 324).] 

That after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, 
it shall be unlawful for any person, company, corporation, or munici- 
pality not under the control of the Lighthouse Board, to establish, 
erect, or maintain in the navigable waters of the United States any 
light as an aid to navigation, or any other aid to navigation similar 
to any of those maintained by the United States under the control 
and direction of the Lighthouse Board, without first obtaining per- 
mission so to do from the Lighthouse Board, in accordance with rules 
and regulations to be established by the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor; and any person violating the provisions of this section or 



REPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 259 

any of the rules and regulations established by the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor in accordance herewith shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor and be subject to a fine not exceeding the sum of one 
hundred dollars for each offense, and each day during which such 
violation shall continue shall be considered as a new offense. 

[Act of Feb. 26, 1907 (34 Stat., 997).] 

That hereafter officers of the Army and Navy detailed for service 
in connection with the Lighthouse Establishment shall be paid their 
actual traveling expenses when traveling under orders on official duty 
to and from points which can not be conveniently reached by vessel 
or railroad. 

[Act of May 14, 1908 (35 Stat., 162).] 

Sec. 5. That any person, firm, company, or corporation required 
by law to maintain a light or lights upon any bridge or abutments 
over or in any navigable waters, who shall fail or refuse to maintain 
such light or lights, or to obey any of the lawful rules and regulations 
relating to the same, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be 
subject to a fine not exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars for 
each offense, and each day during which such violation shall continue 
shall be considered as a new offense. 

Sec. 6. That it shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct or 
interfere with any aid to navigation established or maintained in the 
Lighthouse Establishment under the Lighthouse Board, or to anchor 
any vessel in any of the navigable waters of the United States so as 
to obstruct or interfere with range lights maintained therein, and 
any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine not exceeding the 
sum of iive hundred dollars for each offense, and each day during 
which such violation shall continue shall be considered as a new 
offense. 

Sec. 7. That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall annually 
cause the Lighthouse Board to make a report to him for transmission 
to Congress of all aids to navigation in service which may be discon- 
tinued without distinct injury to the interests of navigation. 

Sec. 9. That every lighthouse keeper and assistant lighthouse 
keeper in the Lighthouse Establishment of the United States shalr 
be entitled to receive one ration per day or, in the discretion of the 
Lighthouse Board, commutation therefor at the rate of thirty cents 
per ration. 

[Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 755).] 

Hereafter there shall be submitted, following each estimate for 
support of the Lighthouse Establishment, statements showing the 
amount required for each object of expenditure mentioned in each 
of said estimates, together with a statement of the expenditures under 
each of such objects for the fiscal year terminated next preceding the 
period of submitting said estimates. 

REGULATIONS OF THE SERVICE. 

The regulations of the service are published in a volume entitled 
" Regulations for the United States Lighthouse Service, and Digest of 
Statutes, Orders, Decisions, and Circulars, and Instructions for the 



260 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 



Personnel of Vessels and Reservations. In force September 1, 1911." 
As this volume is readily available, it is unnecessary to reproduce 
the regulations in this place. 

SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES OF THE SERVICE, FISCAL YEAR 1911. 
[Furnished to the Commission on Economy and Efficiency by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor.] 





Total. 


Bureau 

proper, 

Washington. 


Field service. 


Classes of expenditures. 


Total. 


District offices. 


Lighthouse 
depots. 


Ordinary (current 
expense): 
Administration 
and overhead . 

Operation 

Maintenance. . . 


$615, 216. 66 

3,386,164.56 

762, 941. 73 

13, 293. 68 

2, 016. 40 


$35, 563. 50 

36, 767. 18 

8, 019. 78 


$579, 653. 16 

3,349,397.38 

754. 921. 95 

13, 293. 68 

2, 016. 40 


$321, 903. 32 


$257, 749. 84 




37, 779. 29 


Rental 


9, 499. 80 


3, 266. 96 


Expenditure for 
other services 
(reimbu r s a - 
ble) 














Total 


4,779,633.03 


80, 350. 46 


4,699,282.57 


331, 403. 12 


298, 796. 09 


Extraordinary (cap- 
ital outlays) : 
Land 


1, 766. 60 
294, 155. 21 

155. 72 
435, 123. 63 




1, 766. 60 
292, 823. 26 

7.73 
434, 156. 63 






Buildings 

Other improve- 
ments 


1, 331. 95 

147. 99 
967. 00 




11, 323. 45 




Equipment. . . . 


4, 494. 40 






Total 


731, 201. 16 


2, 446. 94 


728, 754. 22 


4, 494. 40 


11, 323. 45 


Grand total. . . 


5,510,834.19 


82, 797. 40 


5,428,036.79 


335, 897. 52 


310, 119. 54 





Field service. 


Classes of expenditures. 


Land stations. ' Light vessels. 

i 


Buoys and 
other aids. 


Lighthouse 
tenders. 


Ordinary (current expense) : 

Operation 

Maintenance 


$1,513,503.28 

424, 296. 46 

526. 92 


$589, 187. 81 


$59, 348. 02 
31, 797. 70 


$1, 187, 358. 27 
152, 541. 47 


Rental 


108.507.03 




Expenditure for other 
services (reimbursable) . 


63.78 ! 1,164.00 


770. 62 


18,00 


Total 


1, 938, 390. 44 


698, 858. 84 


91, 916. 34 


1, 339, 917. 74 






Extraordinary (capital out- 
lays): 

Land 


1, 766. 60 

281, 499. 81 

7.73 

32, 859. 07 








Buildings 








Other improvements 

Equipment 








72, 765. 42 


284, 828. 36 


39, 209. 38 






Total 


316, 133. 21 


72. 765. 42 


284, 828. 36 


39, 209. 38 








Grand total 


2, 254, 523. 65 


771, 624. 26 


376, 744. 70 


1, 379, 127. 12 







REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 261 

APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SERVICE, FISCAL YEAR 1912. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and 
twelve, and for other purposes. 

Bureau of Lighthouses: Commissioner, five thousand dollars; 
deputy commissioner, four thousand dollars; chief constructing 
engineer, four thousand dollars; superintendent of naval construction, 
three thousand dollars; chief clerk, two thousand four hundred dol- 
lars: clerk, two thousand dollars; two clerks of class four; clerk of 
class three; two clerks of class two; six clerks of class one; five clerks, 
at one thousand dollars each; seven clerks, at nine hundred dollars 
each; clerk, ei^ht hundred and forty dollars; clerk, seven hundred 
and twenty dollars; messenger; assistant messenger; two messenger 
boys, at four hundred and eighty dollars each; assistant engineer, 
three thousand dollars; assistant engineer, two thousand four hun- 
dred dollars; assistant engineer, two thousand two hunderd and fifty 
dollars; draftsman, one thousand eight hundred dollars; draftsman, 
one thousand ^ve hundred and sixty dollars; draftsman, one thou- 
sand four hundred and forty dollars; draftsman, one thousand two 
hundred dollars'; in all, sixty-four thousand six hundred and thirty 
dollars. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twelve, and for other 
purposes. 

Lighthouses, Beacons, Fog Signals, Light Vessels, and 
Other Works Under the Lighthouse Service : Monhegan Island, 
Maine, Light Station: For improving the light and fog signal at 
Monhegan Island, Maine, ten thousand dollars. 

Stonington, Connecticut, Light Station: For repair of sea wall 
about Stonington Point, Connecticut, ^rve hundred dollars. 

For range light, in Bogue Sound, North Carolina, two thousand 
five hundred dollars. 

Staten Island Lighthouse Depot, New York: For constructing a 
power house and foundry, and for completing the equipment, wiring, 
and so forth, of the power plant at the general lighthouse depot, 
Staten Island, New York, thirty thousand dollars. 

Brandywine Shoal Light Station, Delaware: For rebuilding and 
improving the present light and fog signal station at Brandywine 
Shoal, Delaware Bay, Delaware, on the present or an adjacent site, 
seventy-five thousand dollars. 

For establishing a light and fog signal station at or near the mouth 
of Rondout Creek, Hudson River, New York, forty thousand dollars. 

Lincoln Rock Light Station, Alaska: For rebuilding and improving 
the present light and fog signal at Lincoln Rock, Alaska, on the 
present or an adjacent site, twenty-five thousand dollars. 

Buffalo Breakwater, North End Light Station, New York: For 
rebuilding the Buffalo Breakwater, North End Light Station, New 
York, on the present or an adjacent site, sixty thousand dollars. 

Superior Entry, Wisconsin: For the completion of the lighting of 
the breakwaters and piers at Superior Entry, Wisconsin, twenty-five 
thousand dollars. 



262 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Eagle Point Range Lights, New Jersey: For the establishment of 
proper lights to light a difficult turn at the junction of the two Horse- 
shoe ranges on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
two thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars. 

San Pedro Breakwater Light Station, California: For establishing 
a light and fog signal station on the San Pedro Breakwater, California, 
thirty-six thousand dollars. 

For a light vessel for service at or near a point between Point Abino 
and Sturgeon Point, in Lake Erie, seventy-five thousand dollars. 

Edgemoor Lighthouse Depot, Delaware: For the reconstruction of 
the wharves and sea wall, for dredging the basin, and for other 
improvements at the Edgemoor Lighthouse Depot, Delaware, thirty 
thousand dollars. 

Miah Maul Shoal Light Station, Delaware Bay: For completing the 
construction of the light and fog signal station at Miah Maul Shoal, 
Delaware Bay, thirty thousand dollars. 

Fort McHenry Channel, Maryland: For range lights, one hundred 
and twenty-five thousand dollars. 

For suitable lights and signals in Cape Fear River, below Wilming- 
ton, North Carolina, twenty-one thousand dollars. 

For establishing an adequate system of lighting in the channels 
leading to Norfolk Harbor, Virginia, thirty-five thousand dollars. 

Sand Island Light Station, Alabama: For protecting the site at 
Sand Island Light Station, Alabama, fifteen thousand dollars. 

Detroit River Lights, Michigan: For establishing aids to naviga- 
tion along the Livingstone Channel, Detroit River, Michigan, includ- 
ing authority to locate and construct lights and to place buoys neces- 
sary to properly mark this channel, two hundred and ten thousand 
dollars. 

Staten Island Lighthouse Depot, New York: For repairs and exten- 
sion of wharves at the general lighthouse depot, Staten Island, New 
York, forty thousand dollars. 

Hunts Point Light Station, New York: For the establishment of a 
light and fog signal to properly mark Hunts Point between Hell Gate 
and Whitestone Point, East River, New York, five thousand dollars. 

Battery Point Light Station, Washington: For completing the 
establishment of the light and fog signal station at Battery Point, 
Washington, thirty-three thousand dollars. 

Aids to navigation, Alaska: For establishing additional aids to 
navigation in Alaskan waters, sixty thousand dollars. 

Lighthouse Service: General expenses, Lighthouse Service: 
For supplies, repairs, maintenance, and incidental expenses of 
lighthouses and other lights, beacons, buoyage, fog signals, lighting 
of rivers heretofore authorized to be lighted, light vessels, other aids 
to navigation, and lighthouse tenders, including the establishment, 
repair, and improvement of beacons and day marks and purchase of 
land for same, the establishment of post lights, buoys, submarine 
signals, and fog signals, the establishment of oil or carbide houses, 
not to exceed ten thousand dollars: Provided, That no oil house 
erected hereunder shall exceed five hundred and fifty dollars in cost; 
the construction of necessary outbuildings at a cost not exceeding 
two hundred dollars at any one light station in any fiscal year, the 
improvements of grounds and buildings connected with light stations 
and depots, wages of laborers attending post lights, pay of temporary 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 263 

employees while engaged on works of general repair and maintenance , 
rations and provisions for keepers of lighthouses, officers and crews 
of light vessels and tenders, and officials of the Lighthouse Service on 
duty on board of such tenders or vessels, reimbursement under rules 

Srescribed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, of keepers of 
ght stations and masters of light vessels and of lighthouse tenders 
for rations and provisions and clothing furnished shipwrecked 
persons who may be temporarily provided for by them, not exceeding 
in all five thousand dollars in any fiscal year, fuel and rent of quarters 
where necessary for keepers of lighthouses, the purchase of land sites 
for fog signals, the rent of necessary ground for all such lights and 
beacons as are for temporary use or to mark changeable channels and 
which in consequence can not be made permanent, the rent of offices, 
depots, and wharves, traveling expenses and mileage, library books 
for light stations and vessels, and technical books and periodicals 
not exceeding one thousand dollars, and for all other contingent 
expenses of district offices and depots, and for contingent expenses 
of the office of the Bureau of Lighthouses in Washington, two million 
Hve hundred and sixty-nine thousand four hundred dollars. 

Salaries of keepers of lighthouses: For salaries of not exceeding 
one thousand seven hundred and fifty lighthouse and fog-signal 
keepers and laborers attending other lights exclusive of post lights, 
nine hundred and thirty thousand dollars. 

Salaries, lighthouse vessels: For salaries and wages of officers and 
crews of light vessels and lighthouse tenders, including temporary 
employment when necessary, one million seven thousand four 
hundred and twenty dollars. 

Salaries, Lighthouse Service: For salaries of seventeen lighthouse 
inspectors and of clerks and other authorized permanent emploj^ees 
in the district offices and depots of the Lighthouse Service, exclusive 
of those regularly employed in the office of the Bureau of Lighthouses, 
Washington, District of Columbia, four hundred and sixty-five 
thousand nine hundred and sixty dollars. 

Recapitulation. 

Salaries of office force |64, 630. 00 

General expenses, including supplies, repairs, etc., and contingent 

expenses 2, 579, 400. 00 

Salaries of keepers, light vessels, inspectors, etc 2, 403, 380. 00 

Xew stations, beacons, etc 887, 950. 00 

Total 5. 935. 360. 00 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SERVICE. 

1. Report of the Lighthouse Board for 1909. Department of Commerce and Labor. 

Washington. 1910. (A statement of work done, appropriations, expenditures, 
and estimates, and an appendix containing a discussion of "Lighthouse estab- 
lishments in Europe . ' ' The annual reports prior to this date were in more or less 
stereotyped form and give little insight into the organization, cost, or methods of 
business of the service.) 

2. Report of the Operations of the Lighthouse Board for 1910. Department of Com- 

merce and Labor. Washington. 1910. (This report outlines the change made 
by the act of June 17, 1910, in the organization of the service, quotes the act, 
and describes the method and work of the board according to its divisions.) 

3. The Organization and Duties of Lighthouse Board. 81 pp. G. P. O. Washington. 

1864. (Deals with organization, officers, rules of procedure, duties, methods of 
districting, and responsibility. Also there are listed all laws passed on the sub- 
ject of lighthouses.) 



264 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

4. Laws of the States ceding Jurisdiction Over and Relinquishing Title to Lighthouse 

Sites. 52 pp. G. P. 0. Washington. 1871. 

5. A Compilation of Public Documents and Extracts. 1,060 pp. Index. G. P. 0. 

Washington. 1871. (History of establishment and its failings; the organiza- 
tion, laws, and costs of the board and recommendations for improvement.) 

6. The Organization and Law of the Department of Commerce and Labor. Washing- 

ton. 1904. (Gives a short historical sketch of the service and its organization.) 

7. Letter from Secretary of the Treasury transmitting a statement of disbursements 

made since 1789 for lighthouses. 21st Cong. 2d sess. House Doc. 11. Wash- 
ington. 1830. 32 pp. 

8. Lighthouse Establishment. 24th Cong. 1st Sess. House Doc. 66. 30 pp. 

Washington. 1836. (Report by fifth auditor on a plan of management for the 
Lighthouse Establishment. Gives cost of maintenance from 1791 to 1834, 
names and salaries of the employees, and location of station.) 

9. A report on plan for reorganizing and improving Lighthouse Establishment. 25th 

Cong. 2d sess. Senate Doc. 428. 21 pp. Washington. 

10. Lighthouse Establishment. 27th Cong. 3d sess. House Doc. 183. Washington. 

1843. (A report on conditions of lighthouses with recommendations as to ap- 
propriations and expenditures.) 

11. Report of the Secretary of the Navy. 47th Cong. 2d sess. House Ex. Doc. 1, 

Part 3. 684 pp. (p. 27). G. P. 0. Washington. 1882. (Brief description of 
organization of the establishment, past changes therein, and reasons.) 

12. The Modern Lighthouse Service. A.B.Johnson. 51st Cong. 1st sess. Senate 

Ex. Doc. 56. 137 pp. Index. _ G. P. 0. Washington. 1890. (Describes 
rise, growth, need, cost, construction, management, personnel of establishment, 
and general administration.) 

13. Report of Joint Commission to Inquire into the Status of the Law Organizing the 

Executive Departments. Cockrell Commission. 53d Cong. 1st sess. House 
Report 49, etc. Washington. 1893. (Contains laws creating and appropriat- 
ing for the board; data in re employees; method of accounting; and condition 
of business.) 

14. Hamilton's Works. 7 vols. Vol. IV. New York. 1851. (In Volume IV are 

contained reports by the Secretary of the Treasury on number and location of 
lighthouses; proposals for regulation of pilots and general superintendence.) 

15. The Executive Departments. W. Elmes. 557 pp. Index. Washington. 1879. 

(Contains law, duties, supervision, and administrative methods of the bureau.) 

16. The Lighthouse Service of the United States. G. H. Claudy. World To-day; 

January to June, 1907. Vol. 12, pp. 536-546. New York. 1906. (Describes 
the history, growth, organization, and importance of the service.) 

17. United States Public Documents. Elfrida Everhart. 320 pp. Minneapolis. 

1910. (Brief history of the board and descriptive list of its publications.) 



Department of Commerce and Labor, 

Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, January 9, 1912. 

Sir: I have the honor to return herewith the report of the Com- 
mission on Economy and Efficiency relating to the consolidation of 
the Life-Saving Service of the Treasury Department with the Bureau 
of Lighthouses of this department, transmitted with your letter of 
the 27th ultimo. 

After consideration of a report which I have received from the 
Commissioner of Lighthouses in this matter I beg to state that I 
concur in the conclusion that the consolidation of the Life-Saving 
Service with the Lighthouse Service would be in the interests of 
economy. 

In this connection I inclose herewith a copy of a memorandum 
from the Commissioner of Lighthouses, setting forth reasons why in 
the opinion of that officer the consolidation could be made with 
advantage to the service as a whole. 

Respectfully, Charles Nagel, Secretary. 

The President. 



eeports of the commission on economy and efficiency. 265 

January 5, 1912. 
The Secretary of Commerce and Labor. 

Sir : I have the honor to return the report to the President on the 
consolidation of the Bureau of Lighthouses, Department of Commerce 
and Labor, and the Life-Saving Service, Department of the Treasury, 
submitted by the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency, 
December, 1911, which, on January 3, was sent to me for an expression 
of opinion. 

I have read with care this report and the conclusions reached by the 
President's commission, and beg to state that I concur in these conclu- 
sions and believe that they are well founded. My reasons for believ- 
ing in the wisdom of the policy which is recommended were given in 
detail in the memorandum which I submitted for your information, 
dated November 11, 1911, particularly in the last four paragraphs of 
that statement. 

It is difficult to estimate with precision the economies that might be 
effected by action such as that which is proposed, but I believe the 
statement that there would be an annual saving of from $100,000 to 
$150,000 is conservative. 

I see no reason why the work of the Life-Saving Service can not be 
administered with at least as great efficiency as at present through the 
general organization now existing in the Lighthouse Service, with rea- 
sonable additions to the personnel and equipment. 
Very respectfully, 

G. R. Putnam, Commissioner. 



APPENDIX No. 3 



REVENUE-CUTTER SERVICE OF THE DEPARTMENT 
OF THE TREASURY 



267 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

1. Introduction 269 

2. General description of the service, its organization and duties 270 

1. Creation of the service 270 

2. Duties of the service 270 

3. Organization of the service 271 

4. Appropriation for the service 271 

3. Critical consideration of the service and its activities 271 

1. Special character of the service 271 

2. Military character of the service 273 

4. Consideration of the duties of the service in detail 275 

5. Duties of the service as specifically required by law 282 

6. Conclusion 283 

EXHIBITS. 

IB. History, organization, and activities of the Revenue-Cutter Service 285 

2B. History of efforts looking to the transfer of the service from the Treasury 

Department to the Navy Department 299 

3B. Compilation of the laws relating to the Revenue-Cutter Service 349 

4B . Regulations and general orders of the service (included by reference only, as 

they are readily available in printed form) 368 

5B . Report of the Secretary of the Treasury for the fiscal year 1910 regarding the 

Revenue-Cutter Service 368 

6B. Letter of the Secretary of the Treasury giving a statement of the expendi- 
tures of the service, fiscal year 1910 371 

7B. Extract from the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act for 

the fiscal year 1912 making appropriations for the service 371 

8B. Summary of expenditures of the Revenue-Cutter Service for the fiscal year 
1911 (furnished to the Commission on Economy and Efficiency by the 

Secretary of the Treasury) 372 

9B. Bibliography of the Revenue-Cutter Service 373 

268 



REVENUE-CUTTER SERVICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE 

TREASURY. 



November 17, 1911. 
The President: 

The Commission on Economy and Efficiency has the honor to sub- 
mit the following report in reference to the Revenue-Cutter Service 
of the Department of the Treasury. Its recommendation in respect 
to this service is that it be abolished and that the duties now being 
performed by it be distributed among other existing organizations 
of the Government. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In the consideration which the commission has given to the organ- 
ization and activities of the services of the Government having to 
do with maritime affairs special attention has been given to the 
Revenue-Cutter Service. After a careful study of the work now 
being performed by this service the commission is convinced that 
the service has not a single duty or function that can not be per- 
formed by some other existing service, and be performed by the 
latter at much smaller expense on its part. The commission there- 
fore recommends that the Revenue-Cutter Service as a separate 
branch of the Government be abolished, and that the duties now 
being performed and the equipment used by it so far as this may be 
necessary be distributed among other branches of the Government. 1 

The maintenance of this service at the present time involves an 
expenditure of approximately two and a half million dollars annually. 
The commission believes that its abolition as a separately organ- 
ized branch will result in a direct saving of a large part of this sum; 
and that, after the work of distributing the duties now being per- 
formed by the service among other branches of the Government 
service is definitely accomplished, the net saving to the Government 
will be at least $1,000,000 annually. This economy, it believes, will 
be effected not at the expense of efficiency, but that, on the con- 
trary, all the duties now being performed by the service will be 
equally, if not more efficiently, discharged by other services. 

The importance of the issue makes it desirable that a full state- 
ment of the facts regarding this service be set forth, with the con- 
siderations that led the commission to reach its conclusion on the 
subject. The effort has been made therefore to compile, and to 

1 This recommendation is made at this time for the purpose of laying this important matter before the 
President at the earliest possible date. The commission believes that before any definite decision is 
reached the Department of the Treasury, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of Commerce 
and Labor — the three departments whose interests are most affected by the recommendation— should be 
furnished with copies of this report, in order that their comments on the facts stated and the conclusions 
reached may be secured. It is possible that such comments may result in a modification of the recom- 
mendation here made. : In a way, therefore, the present report must be considered as raising an important 
issue in definite form and as the statement of the views of the commission as the result of its independent 
Inquiry. 

'269 . 



270 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY* 

present in exhibits to this report, the detailed data regarding the 
history, organization, and activities, and legal powers and duties of 
the service, and to reproduce in full all official documents which 
throw light upon the questions to be considered. Care has been 
taken to include a full statement of the efforts that were put forth 
for nearly a century looking to the transfer of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service from the Treasury Department to the Navy Department. 
Although these efforts were directed to the accomplishment of a pur- 
pose differing materially from the present recommendations of the 
commission, many of the arguments advanced in favor of and 
against such transfer have a direct bearing upon the issue now raised. 
The commission appreciates that, had it been possible for it to do 
the work, an intensive investigation of the manner in which the 
service at the present time conducts its affairs would have been of 
value in itself, and also would have thrown additional light on the 
subject of the general status or necessity for the existence of the 
service. It must be borne in mind, however, that the question 
raised by the commission's recommendation is not whether the 
Revenue-Cutter Service is or is not being efficiently operated. It is 
assumed that it is. The question is a much larger one, namely, 
whether such a service should be maintained at all as a separately 
organized branch of the Government. It is believed that the mate- 
rial here assembled furnishes sufficient data for an intelligent consid- 
eration of this question. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICE.— ITS ORGANIZATION AND 

DUTIES. 

The exhibits to this report give an account, in detail, of the 
history, organization, and activities of the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
and it is necessary, therefore, to state here only a few facts of general 
importance. 

Creation of the Service. 

The establishment of a Revenue-Cutter Service was urged by 
Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, in a report to 
the House of Representatives, dated April 22, 1790. This recom- 
mendation was acted upon by Congress and the service was definitely 
created by act of August 4, 1790. 

Although Mr. Hamilton had recommended that the officers of the 
service "be commissioned officers of the Navy," it was provided in the 
act of August 4, 1790, that they should "be deemed officers of the 
customs." Since its creation the service has been under the Depart- 
ment of the Treasury. 

Duties of the Service. 

Established as a coast patrol to prevent smuggling and assist in 
the enforcement of the customs laws, the service has had duties suc- 
cessively added until at the present time the duties relate to almost 
all marine matters over which the Government exercises jurisdiction. 
The following is an enumeration of the duties as stated in the Official 
Regulations and in reports made by the service to the commission: 

1. Protection of the customs revenue. 

2. Cooperation with the Navy. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 271 

3. Enforcement of laws pertaining to the quarantine. 

4. Suppression of the slave trade. 

5. Enforcement of the neutrality laws. 

6. Protection of merchant vessels from piratical attacks and suppression of piracy. 

7. Protection of the timber reserves of the United States against depredations. 

8. Assistance of vessels in distress. 

9. Prevention of the violation of the immigration laws as provided in section 2163, 

Revised Statutes. 

10. Protection of seal fisheries and sea-otter hunting grounds in Alaska. 

11. Suppression of illegal traffic in firearms, ammunition, and spirits in Alaska. 

12. Cooperation with the Life-Saving Seryice. 

(a) Superintendence of the construction of life-saving stations. 

(6) Inspection, instruction, and drilling of crews of life-saving stations. 

13. Enforcement of certain laws relating to fisheries. 

14. Enforcement of certain laws relating to the anchorage of vessels. 

15. Regulation and policing regattas and marine parades. 

16. Protection of game in Alaska. 

17. Destruction of derelicts at sea. 

18. Enforcement of laws regarding motor boats. 

19. Enforcement of the navigation and other laws governing merchant vessels. 

20. Suppression of mutinies on board merchant vessels. 

21. Protection of wrecked property. 

22. Establishment and maintenance of a refuge station at or near Point Barrow, 

Alaska. 

Organization of the Service. 

For the performance of these duties the service now has — 

1. An administrative office at Washington. 

2. Four supervision districts with headquarters at (1) New York, (2) New Orleans, 

(3) San Francisco, and (4) Port Townsend. 

3. A department of construction and repairs at Baltimore, Md. 

4. A depot at Arundel Cove, Md. 

5. A general store at San Francisco, Cal. 

6. Twenty-six cruising cutters. 

7. Sixteen harbor cutters, consisting of nine tugs and seven launches. 

8. A school of instruction at New London, Conn., to which is attached the practice 

cutter Itasca. 

Appropriation for the Service. 

The appropriations for the support of the service for the fiscal 
year 1911 amounted to $2,463,000. 

CRITICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE SERVICE AND ITS ACTIVITIES. 

In subsequent pages there will be found a critical consideration of 
each duty of the service with a view of determining its character and 
to make clear that it can be effectively performed by other services 
at less cost than is entailed in its performance by the Revenue- 
Cutter Service. Two general features of the service, the existence of 
which vitally affects the whole problem, should receive consideration 
at this point. They are — 

1. The special character of the service as one assisting other services to discharge 

their functions instead of having a special field of activities of its own; and 

2. The organization and conduct of the service on a strictly military basis. 

Special Character of the Service. 

No one can study the operations of this service without being 
impressed by the fact that it has no distinct field of activities of its 
own, but its duties consist almost exclusively in assisting other 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 18 



272 EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

branches of the Government to perform their work. This was not 
a fact when the service was first created. On the termination of the 
War of the Revolution, when the country returned to a peace basis, 
the Continental Navy was disbanded. No new navy was created to 
take the place of the Continental Navy, and the country was without 
a marine force for the performance of military duties. The preven- 
tion of smuggling in cargo then constituted the most important fea- 
ture of the rigid enforcement of the customs system. At the time 
of the creation of the service there was a real necessity, therefore, for 
one that would perform the distinct function of a coast patrol. 

With the development of a strong navy, and the practical cessation 
of smuggling in cargo, this primary function of the service has con- 
stantly dwindled in relative importance until it constitutes but a 
small part of the total activities of the service. On the other hand, 
the activities of the Government in relation to maritime affairs have 
constantly increased, and special services, such as the Bureau of 
Navigation, Steamboat-Inspection Service, Bureau of Lighthouses, 
the Life-Saving Service, etc., have been established for their per- 
formance. In connection with many of these services the Revenue- 
Cutter Service has undertaken to perform certain duties or to render 
certain assistance, so that now 20 or more heads are required in order 
to enumerate the different classes of duties assigned to or performed 

h J {t - ... 

It is this characteristic of the Revenue-Cutter Service that makes 

the problem of its organization, activities, and status a special one. 
The problem presented is whether these varied duties, now being dis- 
charged by it for the benefit of other services, can not be performed 
more efficiently by those other services themselves. 

In considering this problem, due regard should be given to the fact 
that only in part does the existence of this service relieve the other 
services which are added from themselves taking action along the 
same lines that are followed in the work done for them by the Revenue- 
Cutter Service. Thus, for example, notwithstanding the fact that 
the Revenue-Cutter Service in performing one of its duties makes use 
of its cutters for boarding vessels in order to enforce the navigation 
laws, provision is also made by law for the maintenance and operation 
of other vessels by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor for this 
purpose. Following is the section of the legislative, executive, and 
judicial appropriation act for 1912 regarding this subject: 

Enforcement of navigation laws: To enable the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
to provide and operate such motor boats and employ thereon such persons as may 
be necessary for the enforcement, under his direction by customs officers, of the laws 
relating to the navigation and inspection of vessels, boarding of vessels, and counting 
of passengers on excursion boats, fifteen thousand dollars. 

The result of thus making use of two or more services for the per- 
formance of the same function, is failure to locate definitely respon- 
sibility, increased complexities in administering affairs, overlapping, 
duplication, and other evils which are usually present when two 
services work in the same field. 

The fact that most of the services aided by the Revenue-Cutter 
Service are compelled to maintain an administrative machinery for 
doing much of the same class of work now performed for them by the 
Revenue-Cutter Service, shows conclusively that the abolition of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service will not require the creation of new services to 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 273 

take its place. An examination of that part of the present report 
which deals with the specific duties of the service, will show that all of 
them can be taken over by other services as a part of their normal or 
natural duties, and that little or no change and no corresponding 
enlargement of their organizations will be required. 

Military Character of the Service. 

The second characteristic feature of this service that differentiates 
it from all other civil establishments is that it is organized throughout 
on a purely military basis. This means that its cruising cutters are 
built, armed, and manned for military operations ; the officers of the 
service have military rank and enjoy all the special privileges and 
perquisites of military and naval officers; the time of personnel, both 
officers and enlisted men, is given up to a considerable extent to per- 
fecting themselves in military duties ; and that military methods are 
followed in performing the duties of the service. Throughout the 
history of the service, extending over a period of more than a hundred 
years, it has persistently claimed recognition of the military character 
of the service and has sought for its officers all the emoluments and 
advantages enjoined by officers of the Navy. Finally these claims 
were fully recognized. This military character is very clearly stated 
in a report made by the Committee on Commerce of the Senate in 
1902 on a bill to promote the efficiency of the service. 1 

While the Cutter Service is, under existing law, a part of the civil establishment, it 
is and always has been, since the foundation of the Government, constantly regarded 
and treated as a part of the military forces of the country. Its vessels are armed 
cruisers, officered by men bearing the commissions (under military titles, captains, 
lieutenants, etc.) of the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
and manned by duly enlisted men; its officers and men are uniformed in accordance 
with regulations prescribed by the department; naval discipline and routine prevail 
on board of all its ships; the officers and crews are required to be proficient in naval 
drills and to possess a practical knowledge of the use of arms. All these things are 
military. * * * 

Under section 1492, Revised Statutes, officers of the Cutter Service are invested with 
naval rank, and under the provisions of section 2757, Revised Statutes, the President 
may, by a simple order, require the service, or any part of it, to cooperate with the 
Navy, when it at once becomes part and parcel of the naval force of the country and 
passes from the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department to the control of the Navy 
Department. The service is, therefore, a part of the armed force of the country, 
identical in character with the naval service, because both are nautical and both are 
military, and may at any time, in peace or in war, be made one by executive order. 
It is nothing if not nautical, as its achievements upon the high seas, as well as upon the 
coast, for more than 100 years abundantly attest. That it is a military service is con- 
clusively shown by its organization, the training and education of its officers, naval 
discipline, routine, and the work it is constantly called upon to perform. 

The result of this condition of affairs is that, on the one hand, the 
country is now maintaining two distinct naval establishments, the 
functions of which as regards military duties are similar, with all the 
duplication of plant, equipment, and machinery of administration 
that is thereby entailed; and, on the other hand, is making use of 
a purely military establishment for the performance of purely civil 
functions. 

Apart from all other technical considerations that will be set forth 
hereafter, there are consequently here presented two important 
questions: (1) Whether it is not manifestly uneconomical in the ex- 
treme to maintain two separate and independent naval establish- 

i S. Rept. No. 172, 57th Cong., 1st sess. 



274 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

raents for the performance of similar functions; and (2) whether it is 
not also uneconomical as well as inefficient to have organized upon 
a military basis a service whose current duties pertain strictly to 
civil affairs. 

The mere statement of these two questions goes far toward sup- 
porting the contention of the commission that there is no justifica- 
tion for the continued maintenance of two such services, or of main- 
taining a military service for the purpose of performing civil duties. 

From the military standpoint, certainly nothing can be alleged in 
favor of the existing practice and against the recommendation of the 
commission. Secretaries of the Navy have repeatedly placed them- 
selves on record, in their annual reports and in communications to 
Congress, to the effect that not only can the Navy perform all the 
military duties of the Revenue-Cutter Service, but that in doing so 
the officers of the Navy would obtain exactly that training and ex- 
perience it is desirable they should obtain during times of peace. 
Thus, the Secretary of the Navy, Hon. Benjamin F. Tracy, in his 
annual report for 1882, said: 

The Revenue-Cutter Service affords a proper field for the employment of naval 
officers. The duty is directly in the line of their profession. They are fitted for it 
both by training and experience; and if they could be so employed, without detriment 
to the interests of the existing corps of officers, a great and permanent benefit to the 
Government and to the Navy would result. 

The service of the cruising cutters is strictly naval. The duties of the officers are 
not distinguishable in kind from those of naval officers. The discipline is naval, as 
far as naval discipline can be carried on outside of the Navy Department. 

The cruising cutters carry an armament of from one to four guns. The crew are 
armed with small arms. The broadside guns are furnished by the Navy Department. 
In time of war these vessels have always been pressed into the naval service. * * * 

The experience acquired by junior naval officers, if employed in the Cutter Service, 
in cruising on our coasts, and in assisting vessels in distress, would be of direct benefit 
in their profession and to the country in case of war. They would acquire a famil- 
iarity with the coast and a knowledge of local pilotage that could not otherwise be 
obtained. They would have practice in the handling of small vessels under difficult 
circumstances. Employed at first in the lowest rank, they would readily acquire 
whatever might be new or peculiar in this branch of the service. 

In the interests of economy the change suggested is desirable. * * * Two 
training schools are maintained to do the work of one. The Naval Academy at 
Annapolis is supplied with a full corps of instructors and every appliance for the 
training at all times of 335 naval cadets. At the same time another school is main- 
tained at New Bedford for the training of revenue marine cadets, covering the same 
ground, only in a limited degree, and with imperfect appliances. * * * 

In order to harmonize all the interests involved in connecting naval officers with 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, the administration of the two services should be com- 
bined under the Navy Department. The small vessels employed on harbor duty, 
which are only used to carry inspectors of customs and as a sort of harbor police, 
should remain solely attached to the Treasury, as at present. The duty is not such 
as to require a special corps of officers. The cruising cutteis should be transferred 
to the Navy Department; but they should be assigned to duty in the various dis- 
tricts, as at present, upon the requisition of the Secretary of the Treasury, and their 
movements may be directed for the time being by the collectors of customs. 

From the civil standpoint not only is there a fundamental objec- 
tion, as a matter of principle, to giving to civil branches of the Gov- 
ernment a military character, but the doing so causes a great increase 
in the cost of maintaining and operating such service. The salaries 
of military officers are higher than the salaries which prevail generally 
in civil services, and the remuneration so paid is, moreover, increased 
by the allowance. In addition to the entire cost thus entailed there 
is also a constant loss to the Government due to the time devoted by 
officers and men to acquiring and practicing their military duties. 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 275 

Finally, the whole method of administration that prevails in and char- 
acterizes a military administration is inevitably and necessarily more 
•cumbersome and expensive than the method followed by a civil 
department efficiently organized and managed. It is unnecessary, 
however, to dilate on this point. The fact that a service organized and 
run along military lines is a more expensive piece of administrative 
machinery than one organized and run along civil lines is generally 
recognized. 

In considering this feature of the service, special note should be 
taken of the distinction that is made the basis of much of the dis- 
cussion herein of the work performed by the service; namely, between 
(1) the deep-sea work which is done by cruising cutters, and (2) 
the harbor work done by harbor cutters and the work on land 
by officers on special detail. Originally, as hereinbefore stated, the 
work of the service belonged exclusively to the first class. Now a 
very important part of its work falls in the second class. 

The importance of this distinction, from the standpoint of the 
present discussion, lies in the fact that whatever the force of the 
argument may be in favor of the cruising-cutter service having a 
military organization, there is absolutely no sound argument in favor 
of that part of the service discharging duties in the harbors and 
on shore having a military status. The steady increase in the rela- 
tive importance of this latter branch of the work is reason enough 
for opening up the whole question of the advisability of the service 
resting upon a military basis. 

CONSIDERATION OF THE DUTIES OF THE SERVICE IN DETAIL. 

The enumeration of the duties of the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
as given in the first part of this report, was taken from the Official 
Manual of Regulations' for the Service and other data furnished 
by the service. The list of duties would seem to indicate at first 
sight that the service had a large number of very important duties 
to perform. The full significance of this list, however, can be seen 
only when the duties enumerated are subjected to careful analysis. 
In making such analysis, the most important distinction to be 
made is that between (1) those duties of the service pertaining 
primarily to operations on the high seas, or at points remote from 
the mainland of the United States proper, and (2) those duties 
pertaining to operations in harbors or on the land. This is done 
in the following reenumeration of duties : 

I. Duties on the high seas: 

1. Cooperation with the Navy. 

2. Enforcement of the neutrality laws. 

3. Suppression of the slave trade. 

4. Protection of merchant vessels from piratical attack and suppression of piracy. 

5. Suppression of munities on board merchant vessels. 

6. Assistance of vessels in distress. 

7. Protection of wrecked property. 

8. Destruction of derelicts at sea. 

9. Establishment and maintenance of a refuge station at or near Point Barrow, 

Alaska. 

10. Protection of the seal fisheries and the sea-otter hunting grounds in Alaska. 

11. Suppression of illegal traffic in firearms, ammunition, and spirits in Alaska. 

12. Enforcement of certain laws relating to fisheries. 

13. Protection of the timber reserves of the United States against depredation. 

14. Protection of game in Alaska. 

15. Protection of the customs revenue. 



276 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

II. Duties in harbors and on land: 

1. Enforcement of the navigation and other laws governing merchant vessels 

2. Regulation and policing of regattas and marine parades. 

3. Enforcement of certain laws relating to the anchorage of vessels. 

4. Enforcement of laws pertaning to quarantine. 

5. The prevention of the violation of the immigration laws as provided in sections 

2163, Revised Statutes. 

6. Cooperation with the Life-Saving Service. 

(a) The superintendence of the construction of life-saving stations. 
(6) The inspection, instruction, and drilling of crews of life-saving 
stations . 

7. Enforcement of laws regarding motor boats. 

This distinction between the duties of the service which are pri- 
marily performed on the high seas or at remote points and those 
which are primarily performed in harbors and on land is fundamental. 
It is only by making this distinction that one can consider intelli- 
gently the organization and work of the service. 

That the distinction is one of practical importance is apparent 
when the fact is stated that the service maintains two distinct classes 
of vessels for the performance of the two classes of work. For one 
class it has what are known as cruising cutters; for the other class 
it has what are known as harbor cutters, though the latter may be 
aided by the cruising cutters while the latter are lying in a harbor. 
The importance of this distinction, in its bearing upon the question 
of the advisability of the service having a military character and 
organization, has already been pointed out. 

Coming now to a detailed consideration of these duties, the first 
fact to stand out clearly in respect to the first class — the duties per- 
formed on the high seas — is that a number of these duties, though 
enumerated in the Manual of Regulations of the service, are in point 
of fact practically nonexistent in so far as they may impose any real 
work upon the service. Such, for example, are the duties of suppress- 
ing the slave trade, the protection of merchant vessels from piratical 
attacks, the enforcement of the neutrality laws, etc. It is also 
doubtful whether the service performs any work of importance at 
the present time in respect to the suppression of the illegal traffic 
in firearms, ammunition, and liquor with natives of Alaska, or in 
respect to the protection of timber reserves from depredation. 

However, this is a matter of relatively little importance except as 
it makes clearer that the normal duties of the service in times of 
peace are not as important as would appear from a first reading of 
the list of duties enumerated. The important point is that there 
are few of the legal duties above listed which can not be performed 
by the Navy. There can be no question that this is true in regard 
to the first four duties above enumerated — (1) cooperation with the 
Navy, (2) enforcement of the neutrality laws, (3) suppression of the 
slave trade, and (4) protection of merchant vessels from piratical 
attacks and suppression of piracy — as all of these duties are strictly 
military in character. 

The next four duties, (1) suppression of mutinies on board mer- 
chant vessels; (2) assistance of vessels in distress; (3) protection of 
wrecked property; and (4) destruction of derelicts, may be classed as 
duties of a marine-police character rather than strictly military. It 
is difficult to see why the Navy, with its large fleet of vessels, can not 
do much of this if commanders of vessels are commissioned to give 
attention to these matters in the regular performance of their military 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 277 

duties. In point of fact these duties are now being performed by the 
Naval Establishment to a very considerable extent ; and Secretaries of 
the Navy have repeatedly stated that this work should properly 
constitute a part of the activities of the Navy. The only subject 
which seems open to question is what additional personnel and equip- 
ment would be needed by the Navy in case these functions were en- 
tirely transferred to it. 

The next four duties relate to the administration of certain affairs 
in Alaska, and to the enforcement of certain laws relative to fisheries. 
It is possible that the detail of one or more vessels may be necessary 
in order that these duties may be properly discharged. There is no 
reason, however, why the Navy Department can not detail boats for 
this service as well as the Revenue-Cutter Service, in case the latter 
service were abolished and such vessels and equipment as might be 
needed were transferred. If necessary, while acting as such detail, 
these boats might be placed under the general direction of the Secre- 
tary of Commerce and Labor, or other officers having charge of the 
matter to which the duties relate. 

The twelfth duty enumerated is that of the protection of the timber 
reserves of the country from depredation. As has been stated, it is 
doubtful if the Revenue-Cutter Service actually performs any work 
of importance under this head. The duty was imposed upon the 
service before a special organization was created to have charge of 
the forest interests of the country. It may be assumed without dis- 
cussion that the Forest Service or some other service of the Govern- 
ment can do all work of this kind done by the Revenue-Cutter Service 
as well as or better than it is now being done by the latter service. 

This leaves for consideration only the duty of protecting the cus- 
toms revenue. In respect to this duty two questions are presented: 
First, the extent to which a real necessity exists for a patrol of the high 
seas by armed vessels in order to protect customs revenues; and, 
second, whether this patrol, in so far as it may be necessary, can not 
be maintained by vessels of the Navy specially detailed for the 
purpose. 

As has been stated, there can be no doubt that at the time of the 
creation of the Revenue-Cutter Service, and during its early history, 
there was a real need for a coast patrol of armed vessels. When this 
service was established the country had no Navy and the creation 
of an armed service was therefore unavoidable. It is of interest to 
note, however, that it was the recommendation of Alexander Hamil- 
ton, at whose instance the service was established, that the officers 
of the service be naval officers, and, furthermore, that immediately 
upon the organization of a naval department and provision being 
made for a Navy, the transfer of the service to the Navy was strongly 
urged. 

Not only was there at the time of the creation of this service no 
Navy that could do the work to be done, but conditions were such as 
to make the necessity for an armed patrol of the coast very great. 
The country was sparsely settled. There were long stretches of coast 
without settlements of importance. Only here and there were there 
Federal officers who could look after the enforcement of laws. Means 
of communication by land were primitive. Under such conditions 
the greatest problem to be met in enforcing the customs laws was that 
of preventing smuggling in cargo ; that is, by vessels that are engaged 



278 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

in illegal work of this character and discharge their contraband 
cargoes at points remote from authorized ports of entry or the head- 
quarters of any Federal official in a position to exercise any check 
upon their operations. 

It is hardly necessary to point out how radically different conditions 
are at the present time. The country has a large and constantly 
growing Navy. There has been developed a very complete system 
for the registry and enrollment of all vessels engaged in marine trans- 
portation; for keeping track of their movements, through require- 
ments regarding the entrance and clearance from ports; for reporting 
vessels sighted; and, generally, for keeping fully and currently 
informed regarding the existence and movements of sea-going vessels. 
The country and coast are now studded with settlements. Means of 
communication have been developed, and the methods of dispatching 
information through the telegraph, telephone, wireless, and other sys- 
tems have reached a high state of development. And, finally, the 
increase in the activities of the Government has necessitated the 
establishment of Federal offices or stations along the coast at prac- 
tically every point where goods by cargo may be landed, and the offi- 
cers in charge can give information promptly regarding illegal work 
carried on in their localities. 

As a result of these changed conditions, the same need for a coast 
patrol of a military character and for efforts looking to the prevention 
of smuggling by cargo no longer exists. The commission under- 
stands that this is practically admitted by the Treasury Department, 
but that the department is still of the opinion that there is need for a 
patrol of the coast by armed vessels on account of the deterrent effect 
produced, if for no other reason. The commission is willing, for the 
purposes of the present report, to admit that the Treasury Depart- 
ment is correct in its contention and that some need for a coast patrol 
in the interests of the customs service still exists. Especially may 
this be the case in respect to the coast of Florida and adjacent States 
where there may be some danger of smuggling by cargo from the West 
Indies. The commission does, however, hold that the need for a 
service of this character is slight in comparison with that which existed 
in times gone by, and, in so far as it does exist, can be met by the Navy 
Department, and if need be, one or more craft may be detailed when- 
ever occasion may require. 

In opposition, the point may be urged that the Naval Establish- 
ment should not be intrusted with the duty of enforcing laws regard- 
ing civil affairs. Objection on this ground, however, can be overcome 
by devising some system of cooperation which would be satisfactory 
to both departments. 

If further evidence is required that the work of the cruising cutters 
is peculiarly of a character to be effectively performed by naval ves- 
sels, that evidence can be found in the fact that the Revenue-Cutter 
Service itself is organized upon a purely military or naval basis. The 
service has been in fact most insistent throughout its history that its 
work was of such a character that it should be given the status and 
character of a naval establishment; that its officers should have mili- 
tary rank and enjoy all of the special privileges, perquisites, etc., of 
the naval service. In this contention the service has achieved such 
success that it is now organized and conducted wholly on a military 
or naval basis. In view of this it is difficult to see how the position 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 279 

can be successfully maintained that the work being done is not such 
as can be done by vessels of the Naval Establishment proper. 

Coming now to duties that are performed in harbors and on land, 
the problem has to do with a very distinct class of duties, and with 
essentially different questions of organization and administration. 
It will be seen, by reference to the enumeration of duties under this 
head, that use is made of the personnel and the harbor cutters as 
agents to assist in the enforcement of the navigation, quarantine, and 
immigration laws; to perform certain special duties in relation to 
the anchorage of vessels at four specially designated ports; and to 
assist in the administration of the affairs of the Life-Saving Service. 

The first significant fact to stand out prominently in relation to 
these duties is that, whatever may be the argument in favor of having 
the service that mans and operates cruising cutters organized and run 
on a military system, no valid argument can be brought forward in 
favor of giving a military character to the service performing these 
harbor and land duties. To do so makes for poor economy and bad 
administration, and requires the employment of an expensive type of 
organization and administration. 

Apart from this consideration the commission believes that the 
duties of the class now under consideration, not only logically should 
be performed by the services to be benefited thereby, but can be 
performed by the latter services more economically and efficiently 
than under the present arrangement. 

For example, what can be more illogical, more inefficient, or worse 
practice than the present arrangement according to which an 
important part of the actual work of administering the affairs of 
one service — the Life-Saving Service — is performed by officers of 
another independent service — the Revenue-Cutter Service? 

Here is presented the case of one captain and nine other officers of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service filling the position of inspector and 
assistant inspectors of life-saving stations — two captains filling the 
position of superintendents of construction and repair of life-saving 
stations, and one captain filling the position of superintendent of 
construction of lifeboats and apparatus. These men are all selected, 
trained, and educated for service of a military character as officers of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service. They receive the higher pay of military 
officers and the additional emoluments in the way of travel, quarters, 
and other allowances, and their salaries are paid from appropriations 
for the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

This practice is indefensible and constitutes a serious defect in the 
present organization of the service. There is no objection to the 
practice of having officials of one service detailed for the performance 
of special work in another service, when such work is of a temporary 
character. The permanent detail in this manner of officers from 
one service to another, however, can not be defended. It results in 
divided responsibility, conflict of authority and jurisdiction, con- 
fusion of accounts, with the result of not showing all the expense to 
the Government in operating the Life-Saving Service, and other 
administrative difficulties. 

A special objection to this practice is the certainty that numerous 
changes will take place in respect to the persons performing the 
work by detail. It is not likely that persons belonging to one service 
will be permanently detailed to other services. If such a detail 



280 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

represents work of an advantageous and congenial character, there 
will be a feeling in the service that all of the officers eligible for the 
detail should be given equal opportunities. If the work is uncon- 
genial the feeling will be equally strong that it would be unfair to 
keep the same persons permanently on such detail. Apart from the 
constant shifting of personnel that is thus likely to result, there is the 
further disadvantage that the persons detailed have been selected 
and trained for the performance of other work and their interest is 
likely to lie in such other work. The service to which the detail is 
made can not select men with a sole view to their qualifications for 
the work to be performed, or to retain permanently those who 
prove themselves especially competent in respect to the duties to be 
performed. 

In the present case there is no technical reason why the Life- 
Saving Service should not be conducted wholly by its own officials. 
The only explanation of the fact that it is not so conducted lies in the 
circumstances under which the service came into existence. Its or- 
ganization was brought about by the active interest of the head of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service in life-saving work. It was natural that in 
the absence of a perfected organization the law should at the outset 
authorize the utilization of the personnel of an existing service. This 
was accomplished through the enactment of the provisions of the act 
of March 3, 1873, now constituting 424 of Revised Statutes, which 
provided: "That all life-saving stations hereafter created shall be 
erected under the supervision of two captains of the Revenue (Marine) 
Service to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury and to be 
under his direction," and the further enactment of section 8 of the 
act of June 18, 1878, providing: 

That the Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or officers of the Revenue 
Marine Service as may be necessary as inspector arid assistant inspectors of stations, 
who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service as may 
be required of them by the general superintendent. 

Now that the Life-Saving Service is firmly established, there is no 
justification for its affairs being administered by officers of another 
service. The condition is not that of officers of one service rendering 
assistance to another, but of actually administering its affairs. 

From the standpoint of the Revenue-Cutter Service, one or the 
other of two things takes place — either the service is deprived of the 
services of officers of whom it has need for its own work, or it is 
permanently provided with a larger force of officers than it needs. 

From the standpoint of the Life-Saving Service, use is made of 
officers who receive a higher compensation in the way of salary and 
allowances than is received by other civil officials doing the same 
grade of work; who have subjected the Government to a considerable 
preliminary expense for their special education and training for other 
duties ; who are constantly shifting, with the result that scarcely have 
they fully mastered the requirements of their posts than they are 
supplanted by others who may be wholly new to the work to be done; 
whose interest in the work is only temporary, their permanent inter- 
ests being in the affairs of another service, and who, by filling these 
important positions, close the door to advancement on the part of 
the permanent personnel of the service, and thus affect injuriously 
the whole tone, or esprit de corps, of such service. 

This statement of the evils of the existing system represents 
merely the unavoidable conclusions that must be reached by any 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 281 

person making a critical study of the organization and methods of the 
two services. 

The undesirability of present conditions is testified to in no uncer- 
tain terms by the head of the Life-Saving Service, who, in a com- 
munication to the Secretary of the Treasury, under date of March 25, 
1911, says: 

Another important duty assigned to the Revenue Marine officers in the beginning 
was that of drilling the crews, who, although expert surfmen, were entirely unac- 
customed to disciplinary government. The superintendents were also equally un- 
trained in methodical means of handling organized bodies. The training which the 
Revenue Marine officers had received in their own corps was of very great use in thia 
respect, although they themselves had to acquire from the life-saving crews a famil- 
iarity with the art of handling boats in the surf, an art which is not part of the pro- 
fession of a sailor, whose business it is to conduct vessels from one port to another 
and to keep as far away from the dangers of the surf as practicable. They also had to 
learn the method of handling the wrecked ordnance, so unlike any then used on 
shipboard. Owing to the fact that now — as has been the case for nearly a quarter of 
a century — promotions to the positions of station keeper in the Life-Saving Service 
are made from the ranks of the surfmen, and those to the position of district superin- 
tendents from the keepers, by merit, these officers have become fully as competent 
to drill the crews as the Revenue Cutter officers, whom, as a matter of fact, upon their 
first assignment to this duty they have to instruct. So it will be seen that the service 
itself possesses among its keepers, and, it might be said, even among surfmen, an 
abundance of men who are entirely competent to discharge the inspection duties now 
performed by the assistant inspectors detailed from the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

In respect to the other services assisted — the navigation, immigra- 
tion, and quarantine services — the commission has already pointed 
out that on the one hand it is better that these services should directly 
perform the work to be done through their own agents and boats, and r 
on the other, that these services are, at the present time and to a con- 
siderable extent, maintaining and operating harbor craft for the per- 
formance of the same work done in part by the harbor cutters of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, or in performing work so analogous in 
character that they could readily be employed for doing the work 
now being done by the boats of the latter service. 

The recommendation of the commission is that, with the abolition 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service, the harbor cutters of the latter service 
be transferred to the services for whose benefit the boats are now 
being operated. 

In this connection the commission believes that a detailed study 
could be made with advantage of the special problem of boat service in 
harbors for all the branches of the Government with a view of deter- 
mining the extent to which more economical and efficient means 
might be provided for doing this work. In all of the less important 
ports, if the use of any boat at all is necessary, the best arrangement 
would seem to be that of furnishing the collector of the port with a 
boat, and providing that use should be made of it by other services as 
they have need for boarding vessels or moving about the harbor. In 
the more important ports it may well be the case that the work of 
certain of the services is of sufficient value and importance to make it 
a matter of economy and efficiency in administration that they should 
have their own boats. This is a problem, however, which it is not 
necessary to examine in detail at this time. The point here at issue 
is that there is no necessity for an independent service with the duty 
of rendering services of this character. If one service is to act for or 
furnish facilities for other services, more effective use can be made of 
some services, such, for example, as the customs service, the mainte- 
nance of which is obligatory. 



282 REPORTS OP THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
DUTIES OF THE SERVICE AS SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED BY LAW. 

Still another point bearing on this matter should receive consider- 
tion. In the history of the Revenue-Cutter Service contained in the 
appendix there is given not only an account of the development that 
has taken place in the scope of activities of the service, but also a 
reproduction of the provisions of law under which this enlargement of 
duties has taken place. A reading of these provisions brings out one 
point not yet mentioned that is of importance in connection with the 
recommendation of the commission that the duties now being per- 
formed by the Revenue-Cutter Service be hereafter discharged by 
other branches of the Government. 

This point is that, as the law now stands, the Revenue-Cutter 
Service is not specifically required to perform more than a part of the 
duties that are enumerated by it as constituting its functions. In the 
majority of cases the laws bearing upon the duties enumerated simply 
require that use shall be made of the " vessels" of the United States, 
without enumerating those belonging to any particular service, or 
that some official, such as the President or the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, shall cause to be done the act specified, without stating the 
agencies to be employed. 

The failure specifically to impose these duties upon the Revenue- 
Cutter Service is evidently intentional on the part of Congress. It is 
clear, in reference to such duties as the suppression of the slave trade; 
the enforcement of the neutrality laws; the protection of merchant 
vessels from piratical attacks; the assistance of vessels in distress; 
the enforcement of certain immigration laws; the protection of seal 
fisheries and sea-otter hunting grounds in Alaska; the suppression 
of illegal traffic in firearms, ammunition, and spirits in Alaska; the 
protection of game in Alaska; and the protection of timber reserves 
of the United States against depredations — in respect to all of which 
no specific mention is made of the Revenue-Cutter Service — that 
Congress had in mind that these duties should be performed either 
primarily by vessels of the Navy, or by any vessels of the United 
States adapted to the work. 

The foregoing is of significance, since without any change in the 
law it is now possible to have these duties performed by the 
naval establishment or other branches of the Government service. 
Furthermore, the enumeration of these duties as among those per- 
taining to the Revenue-Cutter Service, without recognition of the 
fact that their performance by it is not specifically required by law, 
would tend to magnify improperly the apparent necessity that 
exists for the continued existence of such service. Had Con- 
gress from time to time deliberately provided that the Revenue- 
Cutter Service was the branch of the Government which should dis- 
charge these duties, the historical argument in favor of the Continued 
existence of the service would be much stronger than it is. If due 
consideration is given to the point previously dwelt upon (that many 
of the duties listed by the service as among the classes of work to be 
done by it are of nominal rather than actual importance), the posi- 
tion taken by the commission is, it is believed, strongly supported 
by the character of the legislation now existing regarding the servic e 
as well as by the facts regarding the work to be done. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 283 

CONCLUSION. 

The commission has not thought it necessary to enter into a more 
elaborate argument in support of its recommendation, since many 
of the arguments have already been stated with great force by com- 
mittees of Congress in reporting favorably upon bills looking to the 
transfer of the service to the Navy Department. Especially is this 
true of the report made in 1892 — the last occasion when a serious 
effort was made to have this action taken. So clearly is the position 
of the commission stated that it is believed that the report should be 
read with care. It states: 

The question whether the revenue marine is civil or military, or whether it is more 
civil than military, is to be found fully considered in the documents to which refer- 
ence has been made. There can be little doubt that in form and substance all the 
ships, with their appurtenances and their officers and men, are military in all their 
substantial characteristics and that their duties are in the main as essentially mili- 
tary as those performed off and along our own ocean coasts by the vessels of the Navy. 
The 24 armed revenue cutters which cruise outside our harbors could, under the pres- 
ent modern methods of commerce, be entirely dispensed with without seriously affect- 
ing the collection of the revenues of the Government or materially impairing any 
functions necessary to the conduct of the legitimate business of the Treasury 
Department. * * * 

Upon a deliberate review of the whole subject the committee can not avoid the 
conclusion that the public interests, according to modern conditions affecting both 
the work which has been performed by the revenue marine and that of the Navy, 
require the present union on just terms of the two services. We are confronted with 
the existence of two American navies, one, the larger or principal navy, with 269 
guns, 74 ships, 1,316 officers, 8,188 seamen, the other, the smaller or Treasury navy, 
comprising 62 guns, 34 ships, 220 officers, and 711 seamen. These two navies are 
essentially alike and completely military in their material characteristics, and, so 
far as our own 5,700 miles of continental coast line and the 4,700 miles of Alaskan 
waters are concerned, they are both engaged in time of peace in similar duties, and 
each would be engaged in the same duties as the other in the time of war. 

It is time that this anomaly should end and that both the American navies should, 
for the purpose of construction, organization, and discipline, be placed under the 
control and direction of one departmental head, and that should be the military one 
of the Secretary of the Navy. 

For certain duties, and as occasion may arise, the ships and officers and men of the 
Navy will be detailed by the Navy Department, as they now are, for service accord- 
ing to the needs and direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, 
and the Secretary of State. * * * 

The committee believe that in recommending the transfer from this huge and over- 
burdened Treasury Department of the supervision of the naval ships, guns, officers, 
and seamen the real efficiency of that department in the performance of its legitimate 
and indispensable work will not be injured, but, indeed, will be largely increased. 

In time of peace the Secretary of the Navy can devote more personal attention to 
promoting the efficiency of the vessels of the revenue marine than can be given by 
the Secretary of the Treasury. In time of war, necessarily and immediately, the com- 
mand of the outside cruising revenue cutters passes at once to the Secretary of the 
Navy. He should therefore in time of peace retain the control of the construction 
and preservation of such vessels and of the organization and discipline of their officers 
and seamen. 

The subject of the transfer of the revenue cutters to the Navy Department has been 
under discussion for about 10 years. The facts and arguments are fully before 
the public. The delay in reaching a decision is exceedingly detrimental to the 
national interests, and the question should receive an early and decisive settlement 
at the present session of Congress. 

In concluding this report the commission desires again to make it 
clear that its recommendation is essentially different in purpose from 
the various efforts made in the past affecting the status of the Kev- 
enue-Cutter Service. The recommendation of the commission is 



284 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

that the service be abolished as a separate service, and that its duties 
be taken over by other services — not that a transfer of the service in 
toto be made. The position of the commission is, not that the service 
as at present organized and conducted should be in one department 
instead of in another, but that there is no need for such service at all; 
that the duties performed by it can be performed by other existing 
services at much less cost. 

It has been pointed out that the administrative machinery of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service now consists of: 

1. An office of general administration at Washington. 

2. Four district offices at New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, 
and Port Townsend. 

3. A construction and repair station at Baltimore. 

4. A depot at Arundel Cove, Md. 

5. A general store at San Francisco. 

6. A school of instruction with a practice cutter at New London, 
Conn. 

7. Twenty-six cruising cutters. 

8. Sixteen harbor cutters, consisting of nine tugs and seven launches. 
It is immediately apparent that, with the abolition of the service, 

all need for the first six of these administrative units or parts will 
disappear. There being no special service to administer, the office of 
general administration and the four district offices will not be needed. 
The Navy Department is already fully equipped to do all construction 
and repair work, so that there will be no need for the construction and 
repair station at Baltimore. In the same way the general depots and 
storehouses of the Navy Department are fully able to meet all de- 
mands that will come upon them, so that the depot at Arundel Cove, 
Md., and the general store at San Francisco can be abandoned. The 
need for the school of instruction at New London will also cease to 
exist, since the only real necessity for such a school at the present time 
is in order to give the officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service instruc- 
tion in technical military matters, and that instruction the officers of 
the Navy will receive at the Naval Academy. 

In respect to the cruising cutters it is recommended that they be 
transferred to the Navy Department. When so transferred the com- 
mission sees no reason why they can not be incorporated into the gen- 
eral Naval Establishment, and be available for any work to be done by 
that establishment. This transfer is recommended simply as repre- 
senting the best disposition that can be made of these vessels. In 
point of fact, the commission believes that the Navy, with its neces- 
sary ships, will be able to do all of the deep-sea cutter work required, 
with fewer vessels devoted entirely to the duties performed by the Reve- 
nue-Cutter Service, than is possible when these duties are performed 
by a separately organized branch. Further, that the necessity for 
the construction of additional vessels would be correspondingly 
decreased. The Naval Establishment will always embrace auxiliary 
ships, small cruisers, and other vessels that are not up to the required 
standards of efficiency for war. These can be used for services civil 
in character, and may be used in a measure to relieve the need for new 
construction. In the same way it is believed that the necessity for 
the employment of additional officers and men for the operation of 
these vessels will be less than if the service were independently 
operated. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 285 

11 the recommendation of the commission is favorably considered 
the question will then arise- as to the provision that should be made 
for the existing personnel of the Revenue-Cutter Service, and for the 
arrangement of the details incident thereto. This is a matter that 
the commission believes should not be considered by it until knowl- 
edge is obtained as to whether it is proposed to carry into execution 
the action recommended. 

Frederick A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

Walter W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
Harvey S. Chase. 
Merritt O. Chance, 

Secretary. 



Exhibit IB. 



History, Organization, and Activities of the Revenue-Cutter 

Service. 

creation of the service. 

The Revenue-Cutter Service is one of the oldest distinct services of 
the Government. Its creation was urged by Alexander Hamilton, the 
first Secretary of the Treasury, in a communication addressed to Con- 

fress under date of April 22, 1789, and the service itself was estab- 
shed by act of August 4, 1790. 

This act provided that the President should be empowered to build 
and equip "so many boats or cutters, not exceeding 10, as may be 
necessary to be employed for the protection of the revenue, the ex- 
pense whereof shall not exceed $10,000, which shall be paid out of the 
product of the duties on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into 
the United States and on the tonnage of ships or vessels." It further 
made provision for the officers of the boats and their compensation 
and conferred necessary power upon these officers to board vessels 
and discharge their duties. The officers were declared to be " officers 
of the customs." The service was consequently placed under the 
jurisdiction where it has ever since been. 

The subsequent history of the service is largely that of having con- 
ferred upon it by law or Executive order the performance of additional 
duties until its activities at the present time relate to a great many 
matters. The clearest statement of this history can thus be obtained 
by tracing step by step the assumption by the service of these addi- 
tional duties. 

ENFORCEMENT OF CUSTOMS AND TONNAGE DUES. 

As originally created the service was given but one function to per- 
form — that of assisting in the enforcement of the payment of the cus- 
toms and tonnage dues. This function still constitutes one of the 
most important, if not the most important, duty of the service. The 



286 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to use the service for this 
purpose has been reiterated and made broader by subsequent legis- 
lation. Thus the act of March 2, 1799, provides: 

The President may, for the better securing the collection of import or tonnage dues, 
cause to be maintained so many of the revenue cutters as may be necessary to be em- 
ployed for the protection of the revenue, the expense whereof shall be paid out of such 
sum as shall be annually appropriated for the Revenue-Cutter Service and not other- 
wise. (R. S., 2747.) 

The officers of the revenue cutters shall perform, in addition to the duties herein- 
before prescribed, such other duties for the collection and security of the revenue as 
from time to time shall be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury. (R. S., 2762.) 

An act passed July 25, 1861, further provided: 

The Secretary of the Treasury may direct the performance of any service by the 
revenue vessels which in his judgment is necessary for the protection of the revenue. 
(R. S., 2758.) 

An act passed about the same time, July 12, 1861, also contained a 
provision which permitted the President to employ other vessels than 
revenue cutters for the enforcement of the payment of customs and 
tonnage dues. This section reads: 

In execution of laws providing for the collection of duties on imports and tonnage, 
the President, in addition to the revenue cutters in service, may employ in aid thereof 
such other suitable vessels as may in his judgment be required. (R. S., 5318.) 

COOPERATION WITH THE NAVY. 

Alexander Hamilton, in urging the creation of the service, recom- 
mended that its officers should "be commissioned as officers of the 
Navy." Congress, however, did not accept this recommendation 
and provided that the officers should a be deemed officers of the cus- 
toms." Notwithstanding this, the service was evidently organized 
and administered more or less as a naval force. This feature was 
not only fully acquiesced in by Congress but that body almost imme- 
diately took steps for placing the service upon a distinctly naval basis 
and providing that as occasion arose it should cooperate with the Navy. 

Thus an act approved July 1, 1797, authorized the President to — 

cause revenue cutters to be employed to defend the seacoast and to repel hostility to 
the vessels and commerce within their jurisdiction. 

An act of June 22, 1798, amended the foregoing by authorizing the 
President to increase the strength of any revenue cutter for the pur- 
poses of defense against hostilities near the seacoast by employing on 
board the same not exceeding 70 marines and seamen. 

An act "for the augmentation of the Navy," approved February 
25, 1799, authorized the President — 

to place on the Naval Establishment and employ accordingly all or any of the vessels 
which as revenue cutters have been increased in force and employed in defense of the 
seacoast. 

These provisions of law were all replaced by those contained in an 
act passed March 2, 1799, for the more definite organization and 
regulation of the service. This act provided that: 

The revenue cutters shall, whenever the President so directs, cooperate with the 
Navy, during which time they shall be under the direction of the Secretary of the 
Navy, and the expenses thereof shall be defrayed by the Navy Department. (R. S. 
2757.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 287 

In consequence of the service being recognized as a naval force, 
and in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of law, the service has 
actively participated in the naval operations of the country in most, 
if not all, of the wars of the country with foreign powers. 

In October, 1798, the President, with a view of producing concert 
of action of the naval forces of the United States placed the revenue 
cutters at the disposal of the Secretary of the Navy and seven of them 
were accordingly employed in the West Indies during the quasi- 
French War, and afterwards in the suppression of piracy in that 
quarter. 

In the War of 1812-1814 the revenue cutters were employed as 
dispatch boats and for coast defense, and on several occasions were 
actively engaged with the enemy, performing services of great value 
and to the credit of the service. 

In 1836 several revenue cutters participated in the Seminole War 
and maintained a high reputation for the service. 

In 1858 the cutter Harriet Lane, commanded by Capt. John 
Faunce, United States Revenue Marine, served in the Paraguayan 
expedition and its services were stated to be of incalculable value to 
the fleet. 

During the Civil War the revenue cutters were likewise employed 
in naval operations and rendered services of great value. 

The Revenue-Cutter Service likewise took an active and conspicu- 
ous part in the War with Spain. A full report of the services ren- 
dered by each vessel of the service is given in Senate Report No. 172, 
Fifty-seventh Congress, first session. 

It will thus be seen that the Revenue-Cutter Service not only is 
organized and maintained as a naval force, and has naval duties 
imposed upon it by law, but has always rendered assistance of a naval 
character whenever the country has been called upon to engage in 
hostile operations with an enemy. 

ENFORCEMENT OF QUARANTINE LAWS. 

The first additional duty imposed upon the service seems to have 
been that in relation to the enforcement of the quarantine laws of the 
several States. 

By act of February 23, 1799, it was provided that: 

The quarantines and other restraints established by the health laws of any State, 
respecting any vessels arriving in or bound to any port or district thereof, shall be 
duly observed by the officers of the customs revenue of the United States, by the mas- 
ters and crews of the several revenue cutters, and by the military officers commanding 
in any fort or station upon the seacoast; and all such officers of the United States shall 
faithfully aid in the execution of such quarantines and health laws according to their 
respective powers and within their respective precincts, and as they shall be directed 
from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury. But nothing in this title shall 
enable anv State to collect a duty of tonnage or impost without the consent of Congress. 
(R. S., 4792.) 

It will be seen by the foregoing provision that no specific duties in 
relation to the quarantine laws of the States are imposed upon the 
service, but that it, in common with the military officers in command 
of forts on the seacoast, shall not only observe all such laws, but shall 
render such aid as may be in their power and as they may be directed 
by the Secretary of the Treasury in securing the enforcement of such 
laws. 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 19 



288 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. 

Duties in connection with the suppression of the slave trade arose 
under the act of May 10, 1800, which forbids citizens of the United 
States to have any interest in vessels engaged in the slave trade 
between one foreign country and another or to serve on board of 
such vessels, while an act of 1807 forbade the importation of negro 
slaves into the United States. At the present time the President is 
authorized: 

When he deems it expedient to man and employ any of the armed vessels of the 
United States to cruise wherever he may judge attempts are making to carry on the 
slave trade by citizens or residents of the United States in contravention of laws pro- 
hibitory of the same. (R. S., 5557.) 

After which follows authority to seize vessels so illegally employed 
and to prosecute persons offending. 

Here, too, it will be noted, that the Revenue-Cutter Service is not 
specially mentioned as one charged with this duty, the authority of 
the President relating to the use of any armed vessel. The matter 
at the present time is, of course, one of no importance. It is men- 
tioned in this place, however, since the official regulations of the 
service still mention this as one of the duties of the service, and the 
matter is of historical interest. 

ENFORCEMENT OF THE NEUTRALITY LAWS. 

By act of April 30, 1818, it was provided that: 

It shall be lawful for the President, or such person as he shall empower for that pur- 
pose, to employ such part of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia 
thereof, as shall be necessary to compel any foreign vessel to depart the United States 
in all cases in which, by the laws of nations or the treaties of the United States, she 
ought not to remain within the United States. (R. S., 5288.) 

This section also makes no specific reference to the Revenue-Cutter 
Service as the agent to be employed in enforcing the neutrality laws. 
The duty thus belongs to this service only as it is deemed to consti- 
tute a part of the "naval forces of the United States." 

PROTECTION OF MERCHANT VESSELS FROM PIRATICAL ATTACKS AND 
SUPPRESSION OF PIRACY. 

On March 3, 1819, an act was passed which provided that: 

The President is authorized to employ so many of the public armed vessels as in 
his judgment the service may require, with suitable instructions to the commanders 
thereof, in protecting the merchant vessels of the United States and their crews from 
piratical aggressions and depredations. (R. S., 4293.) 

Other sections contained further provisions regarding piracy and 
the seizure and disposition of vessels so engaged. 

Further legislation was had on this subject through the act of 
August 5, 1861, which provided that: 

Any vessel built, purchased, fitted out in whole or in part, or held for the purpose 
of being employed in the commission of any piratical aggression, search, restraint, 
depredation, or seizure, or in the commission of any other act of piracy, as defined 
by the law of nations, shall be liable to be captured and brought into any port of the 
United States if found upon the high seas, or to be seized if found in any port or place 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 289 

within the United States, whether the same shall have actually sailed upon any pirat- 
ical expedition or not, and whether any act or piracy shall have been committed or 
attempted upon or from such vessel or not, and any such vessel may be adjudged 
and condemned, if captured by a vessel authorized as hereinafter mentioned, to the 
use of the United States and to that of the captors, and if seized by a collector, sur- 
veyor, or marshal, then to the use of the United States. (R. S., 4297.) 

The President is authorized to instruct the commanders of the public armed vessels 
of the United States, and to authorize the commanders of any other armed vessels 
sailing under the authority of any letters of marque and reprisal granted by Congress 
or the commanders of any other suitable vessels, to subdue, seize, take, and, if on 
the high seas, to send into any port of the United States any vessel or boat built, 
purchased, fitted out, or held as mentioned in the preceding section. (R. S., 4298.) 

As in the case of the laws relative to the enforcement of the neu- 
trality laws and other matters, the duty of suppressing piracy is not 
intrusted directly to the Revenue-Cutter Service, the President being 
simply authorized to use any ''public armed vessels" for this purpose. 

In the past the suppression of piracy and the protection of mer- 
chant vessels from piratical attack constituted an important service 
to be rendered by the armed vessels of the United States. At the 
present time this duty must be considered as more nominal than real. 

PROTECTION OF THE TIMBER RESERVES OF THE UNITED STATES AGAINST 

DEPREDATIONS. 

By act of February 23, 1822, provision is made that: 

The President is authorized to employ so much of the land and naval forces of the 
United States as may be necessary effectually to prevent the felling, cutting down, 
or other destruction of the timber of the United States in Florida, and to prevent the 
transportation or carrying away any such timber as may be already felled or cut down; 
and to take such other and further measures as may be deemed advisable for the pres- 
ervation of the timber of the United States in Florida. (R. S., 2460.) 

This was supplemented by an act, passed March 2, 1833, which 
provided that: 

It shall be the duty of all collectors of the customs within the States of Alabama, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, before allowing a clearance to any vessel laden in 
whole or in part with live oak timber to ascertain satisfactorily that such timber was 
cut from private lands, or, if from public ones, by the consent of the Navy Department. 
And it is also made the duty of all officers of the customs, and of the land officers within 
those States, to cause prosecutions to be seasonably instituted against all persons 
known to be guilty of depredations, or injuries to, the live oak growing on public lands. 
(R. S., 2463.) 

Here again in providing for the enforcement of the law, reference is 
made to the land and naval forces that may be employed and not the 
Revenue-Cutter Service particularly, though the act of 1833 directs 
the work of instituting proceedings in court against offenders shall 
constitute a part of the u officers of the customs" in common with all 
"land officers" of the Government. It is probable that Congress 
had in mind collectors of customs, rather than officers of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, as officials who should initiate and conduct prosecu- 
tions in court, since the work being one of a judicial character rather 
than one of seizure can best be performed by officials permanently 
stationed on land. With the organization of a Forestry Service to 
care for the forests of the Government, the duties imposed upon other 
branches of the Government are correspondingly diminished in 
importance. 



'290 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
THE ASSISTANCE OF VESSELS IN DISTRESS. 

By act of December 23, 1837, provision was made that: 

The President may, when the necessities of the service permit it, cause any suitable 
number of public vessels adapted to the purpose to cruise upon the coast in the season 
of severe weather and to afford such aid to distressed navigators as their circumstances 
may require; and such public vessels shall go to sea fully prepared to render such 
assistance. (R. S., 1536.) 

Though this act confers power upon the President to make use of 
"any suitable number of public vessels" for the purpose of aiding 
vessels in distress, the performance of this duty has been intrusted 
primarily to the Revenue-Cutter Service and constitutes one of its 
important activities at the present time. 

By act of July 15, 1870, this duty is specially imposed upon the 
Revenue-Cutter Service as regards the Northern and Northwestern 
Lakes. The act thus provided that: 

The revenue cutters on the northern and northwestern lakes, when put in 
commission, shall be specially charged with aiding vessels in distress on the lakes. 

(R. S., 2759.) 

ENFORCEMENT OF IMMIGRATION LAWS. 

By act of February 19, 1862, Congress provided that: 

The President is empowered, in such way and at such time as he may judge proper, 
to direct the vessels of the United States, and the masters and commanders thereof, to 
examine all vessels navigated or owned in whole or in part by citizens of the United 
States, and registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws thereof, wherever in the 
judgment of such master or commanding officer reasonable cause exists to believe that 
such vessel has on board any subjects of China, Japan, or other oriental country, known 
as "coolies," and upon sufficient proof that such vessel is employed in violation of the 
preceding provisions to cause her to be carried, with her officers and crew, into any 
port or district within the United States, and delivered to the marshal of such district, 
to be held and disposed of according to law. (R. S., 2163.) 

This act, it will be noted, does not refer to the immigration laws 
generally, but only to that feature having to do with the importation 
of " coolies" from China, Japan, or other oriental country, and in 
respect to the enforcement of this feature confers power upon the 
President to make use of the " vessels of the United States." No 
special reference in this connection is made of the Kevenue-Cutter 
Service. 

PROTECTION OF SEAL FISHERIES AND SEA OTTER HUNTING GROUNDS 

IN ALASKA. 

By act approved July 27, 1868, Congress provided that: 

No person shall kill any otter, mink, marten, sable, or fur seal, or other fur-bearing 
animal within the limits of Alaska Territory, or in the waters thereof, and every person 
guilty thereof shall, for each offense, be fined not less than two hundred nor more than 
one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both; and all vessels, 
their tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, found engaged in violation of this section 
shall be forfeited; but the Secretary of the Treasury shall have power to authorize 
' the killing of any such mink, marten, sable, or other fur-bearing animal, except fur 
seals, under such regulations as he may prescribe; and it shall be the duty of the Sec- 
retary to prevent the killing of any fur seal and to provide for the execution of the pro- 
visions of this section until it- is otherwise provided by law; nor shall he grant any 
special privileges under this section. (R. S., 1956.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 291 

It will be seen that the Secretary of the Treasury is here designated 
as the officer who shall look after the enforcement of this provision 
of law. In discharging this duty he has made use of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, which is under his jurisdiction. 

SUPPRESSION OF ILLEGAL TRAFFIC IN FIREARMS, AMMUNITION, AND 

SPIRITS IN ALASKA. 

By act of July 27, 1868, provision was made that: 

The President shall have power to restrict and regulate or to prohibit the importa- 
tion and use of firearms, ammunition, and distilled spirits into and within the Territory 
of Alaska. The exportation of the same from any other port or place in the United 
States, when destined to any port or place in that Territory, and all such arms, ammu- 
nition, and distilled spirits exported or attempted to be exported from any port or 
place in the United States and destined for such Territory, in violation of any regu- 
lations that may be prescribed under this section, and all such arms, ammunition, and 
distilled spirits landed or attempted to be landed or used at any port or place in the 
Territory in violation of such regulations, shall be forfeited, and if the value of the 
same exceeds four hundred dollars the vessel upon which the same is found, or from 
which they have been landed, together with her tackle, apparel, and furniture and 
cargo, shall be forfeited; and any person wilfully violating such regulations shall be 
fined not more than four hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months. 
Bonds may be required for a faithful observance of such regulations from the master 
or owners of any vessel departing from any port in the United States having on board 
firearms, ammunition, or distilled spirits, when such vessel is destined to any place 
in the Territory, or, if not so destined, when there is reasonable ground of suspicion 
that such articles are intended to be landed therein in violation of law; and similar 
bonds may also be required on the landing of any such articles in the Territory from 
the person to whom the same may be consigned. (R. S., 1955.) 

This provision of law, it will be noted, while directing that the 
President have the power to restrict and regulate the importation 
and use of firearms, ammunition, and distilled spirits into and within 
Alaska, makes no provision regarding the means that shall be adopted 
by him in discharging this duty. Any action taken by the Revenue- 
Cutter Service in relation to this matter must consequently be in 
pursuance of the President having imposed this obligation upon it. 

ASSISTANCE OF THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 

The Life-Saving Service may be deemed to be an offshoot from, 
or at least to own its creation to, the Revenue-Cutter Service. Prior 
to 1871 Congress had made no provision for any administrative 
service that should have charge of the duties now performed by the 
Life-Saving Service. In that year, however, Congress, as the result 
of the efforts of the then head of the Revenue-Cutter Service, now the 
head of the Life-Saving Service, Mr. S. I. Kimball, provided for the 
organization of a separate administrative organization within the 
Revenue-Cutter Service to have charge of these matters. 

By act of March 3, 1873, Congress provided that: 

The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide for the establishment of 10 life-saving 
stations on the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Virginia and 
North Carolina, at such points as he may deem necessary, for the saving of life and 
property on said coasts: Provided, That all life-saving stations hereafter erected, 
shall be erected under the supervision of two captains of the Revenue Service, to be 
designated bv the Secretarv of the Treasury, and to be under his direction. (U.S., 
4249.) 



292 REPORTS OP THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY, 

On June 30, 1874, Congress, by the passage of the act entitled 
"An act to promote the efficiency of the Life-Saving Service, " gave 
legal sanction to the preliminary organization effected in 1871, and 
provided for the establishment of numerous life-saving stations. 

Four years later, on June 18, 1878, Congress passed the act to 
organize the Life-Saving Service, by which that service was given 
an independent status. 

Notwithstanding this, Congress still continued the practice, which 
has persisted to the present time of making use of officers of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service to discharge certain duties of the Life-Saving 
Service. One of the cases where this is done has already been men- 
tioned, that of the law of March 3, 1873, which provided that: 

All life-saving stations hereafter erected shall be erected under the supervision of 
two captains of the Revenue Service, to be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury 
and to be under his direction. (R. S., 4249.) 

The law of June 18, 1878, establishing the Life-Saving Service on 
its present basis, provided that: 

The Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or officers of the Revenue- 
Marine Service as may be necessary to act as inspector and assistant inspectors of 
stations, who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service 
as may be required of them bv the general superintendent. (Act of June 18, 1878; 
chap. 265, 20 Stat. L., 164.) 

Later provision was made by the legislative, executive, and judicial 
appropriation act of February 26, 1889, that — 

hereafter nothing in section * * * shall be construed to prevent the Secretary of 
the Treasury from detailing not exceeding two officers of the Revenue-Marine Service 
for duty in the office of the Life-Saving Service. (Chap. 279, 25 Stat. L., 719.) 

These three provisions of law are still in force, and under them 
officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service are performing the duties 
above enumerated for the Life-Saving Service. 

ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO FISHERIES. 

In 1885 Congress, in making provision, in the sundry civil act of 
March 3, 1885, for the propagation of food fishes in the waters of 
the United States by the United States Fish Commission, provided 
that: 

The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to detail from time to time for duty 
under the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries any officers and men of the Revenue- 
Marine Service whose services can be spared for such duty. (Chap. 360, 23 Stat. L., 
494.) 

On June 14, 1906, an act was passed prohibiting aliens from fishing 
in the waters of Alaska. This act provided : 

That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall have power to make rules and 
regulations not inconsistent with law to carry into effect the provisions of this act. 
And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to enforce the provi- 
sions of this act and the rules and regulations made thereunder, and for that purpose 
he may employ, through the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Navy, 
the vessels of the United States Revenue-Cutter Service and of the Navy. 

On June 20, 1906, an act was passed regulating the landing, delivery, 
cure, and sale of sponges in the Gulf of Mexico. This act provided: 

That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to enforce the pro- 
visions of this act, and upon his request the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary 
of the Navy may employ vessels of the Revenue- Cutter Service and of the Navy, 
respectivelv, to that end. (Chap. 3442, 31 Stat. L., 314.) 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 293 
ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS RELATING TO ANCHORAGE OF VESSELS. 

On May 16, 1888, Congress passed the following act relative to the 
anchorage of vessels in the port of New York : 

That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, empowered, and directed to define 
and establish an anchorage ground for vessels in the bay and harbor of New York, and 
in the Hudson and East Rivers; to adopt suitable rules and regulations in relation 
thereto, and to take all necessary measures for the proper enforcement of such rules and 
regulations. 

Sec 2. That in the event of the violation of any such rules or regulations by the 
owner, master, or person in charge of any vessel, such owner, master, or person in charge 
of such vessel shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars, and the said vessel 
may be holden for the payment of such penalty, and may be seized and proceeded 
against summarily by libel for the recovery of the same in any United States district 
court for the district within which such vessel may be, and in the name of the officer 
designated bv the Secretarv of the Treasury. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediatelv. (Act of May 16, 1888; 25 Stat. L., 
151.) 

By act of March 3, 1899, the provisions of this act were extended — 

to include the waters of Kill von Kull, Newark Bay. Arthur Kill, and Raritan Bay. 
(Chap. 424, 30 Stat. L., 1081.) 

On February 6, 1893, Congress passed a somewhat similar act in 
relation to the harbor of Chicago. This act reads: 

That the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized and directed to define and estab- 
lish anchorage grounds for vessels in the harbors of Chicago and waters of Lake Michi- 
gan adjacent thereto; to adopt suitable rules and regulations in relation to the same, 
and also to adopt suitable rules and regulations governing the use of marked inshore 
channels in Lake Michigan, in front of the city of Chicago, and to take all necessary 
measures for the proper enforcement of such rules and regulations. 

Sec. 2. That in the event of the violation of any such rules or regulations by the 
owner, master, or person in charge of any vessel, such owner, master, or person in charge 
of such vessel shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars, and the said vessel 
may be holden for the payment of such penalty and may be seized and proceeded 
against summarily by libel for the recovery of the same in any United States district 
court for the district within which such vessel may be, and in the name of the officer 
designated by the Secretary of the Treasury. (Chap. 64, 27 Stat. L., 431.) 

On March 6, 1896, the following act was passed relative to the 
anchorage of vessels in St. Marys River, Mich. : 

That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed 
to adopt and prescribe suitable rules and regulations governing the movements and 
anchorage of vessels and rafts in Saint Marys River, from Point Iroquois, on Lake 
Superior, to Point Detour, on Lake Huron, and for the purpose of enforcing the observ- 
ance of such regulations the said Secretary is hereby authorized to detail one or more 
revenue cutters for duty on said river. 

Sec 2. That all officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service who are directed to enforce 
the regulations prescribed by the above rules are hereby empowered and directed, in 
case of necessity or when a proper notice has been disregarded, to use the force at their 
command to remove from channels or stop any vessels found violating the prescribed 
rules. 

Sec 3. That in the event of the violation of any such regulations or rules of the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury by the owners, master, or person in charge of such vessel, such 
owners, master, or person in charge shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred dollars, 
and the vessel, its tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, at any time used or employed 
in violation of such regulations, shall be forfeited to the United States: Provided, That 
the Secretary of the Treasury may remit said fine or release said vessel on such terms 
as he may prescribe : Provided also, That nothing in this act shall be construed to amend 
or repeal the act entitled "An act to regulate navigation on the Great Lakes and con- 
necting tributary waters as far east as Montreal." (Chap. 49, 29 Stat. L., 55.) 

Section 1 of this act was amended by act of April 26, 1906, by strik- 
ing out the final words reading "the said Secretary is hereby author- 



294 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

ized to detail one or more revenue cutters for duty on said river/' and 
inserting in lieu thereof the following: 

The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to detail one or more revenue 
cutters for duty upon the request of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor on said river. 
(Chap. 1874, 34 Stat. L., 136.) 

On June 6, 1900, similar action was taken by Congress in relation 
to the Kennebec River through the passage of an act of that date. 

That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized, empowered, and directed to define 
and establish an anchorage ground for vessels in Kennebec River at or near Bath, 
Maine, to adopt suitable rules and regulations in relation thereto, and to take all 
necessary measures for the proper enforcement of such rules and regulations. 

Sec 2. That in the event of the violation of any such rules or regulations the 
owner, master, or person in charge of such vessel shall be liable to a penalty of one hun- 
dred dollars; and the said vessel may be holden for the payment of such penalty, and 
may be seized and proceeded against summarily by libel for the recovery of the same 
in any United States district court for the district within which said vessel may be, 
and in the name of the officer designated by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sec. 3. That this act shall take effect immediately. (Chap. 819, 31 Stat. L., 683.) 

A reading of the foregoing provisions of law will show that only in 
the case of the act relating to St. Marys River, Mich., is specific refer- 
ence made to the Revenue-Cutter Service as the one to which should 
be intrusted the administration of the acts. The others simply 
impose upon the Secretary of the Treasury the obligation of taking 
such action as may be required, leaving to him discretion in respect 
to the agency under his jurisdiction through which the work will be 
actually done. 

REGULATIONS AND POLICING REGATTAS AND MARINE PARADES. 

On May 19, 1896, Congress passed the following act authorizing the 
Secretary of the Treasury to detail revenue cutters to enforce such 
rules and regulations as might be adopted to insure the safety of pas- 
sengers on excursion steamers, yachts, etc., taking part in regattas: 

That in order to provide for the safety of passengers on excursion steamers, yachts, 
oarsmen, and all craft, whether as observers or participants, taking part in regattas, 
amateur or professional, that may hereafter be held on navigable waters, the Secretary 
of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered, in his discretion, to 
detail revenue cutters to enforce such rules and regulations as may be adopted to insure 
the safety of passengers on said excursion steamers, yachts, oarsmen, and all craft, 
whether as observers or participants, taking part in such regattas. (Chap. 199, 29 
Stat. L., 122.) 

This act was strengthened by an act passed April 28, 1908, which 
confers power upon the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to issue 
regulations to promote the safety of life on navigable waters during 
regattas and marine parades, and in enforcing such regulations to 
make use of any public vessel belonging to his department or any pri- 
vate vessel gratuitously tendered him. It further provided that upon 
the request of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor the head of any 
other department might enforce the regulations through the use of 
any public vessel belonging to such department or private vessel 
•gratuitously tendered to him. The wording of this act is as follows: 

That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor is hereby authorized and empowered, in 
his discretion, to issue from time to time regulations, not contrary to law, to promote 
the safety of life on navigable waters during regattas or marine parades. 

Sec 2. That to enforce such regulations the Secretary of Commerce and Labor may 
detail any public vessel in the service of that department and make use of any private 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 295 

vessel tendered gratuitously for the purpose or upon the request of the Secretary of 
Commerce and Labor the head of any other department may enforce the regulations 
issued under this act by means of any public vessel of such department and of any 
private vessel tendered gratuitously for the purpose. 

Sec. 3. That the authority and power bestowed upon the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor by sections one and two may be transferred for any special occasion to the head 
of another department by the President whenever in his judgment such transfer is 
desirable. * * * (Chap. 151, 35 Stat. L., 69.) 

It would seem that under this latter act the Secretary of Commerce 
and Labor is the official of the Government who is primarily charged 
with the duty of drafting and issuing regulations to govern regattas 
and marine parades in navigable waters and of seeing to their enforce- 
ment, but that in discharging the latter duty he can request the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Navy, or the head of any 
other department to undertake the enforcement of the regulations 
through vessels belonging to their several departments or gratuitously 
tendered them. 

PROTECTION OF GAME IN ALASKA. 

By act approved June 7, 1902, Congress prescribed in detail 
regulations for the protection of game in Alaska. The enforcement 
of this act is intrusted primarily to the Secretary of Agriculture, 
but it is provided that it — 

shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, upon request of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, to aid in carrying out the provisions of this act. (Chap. 1037, 32 Stat. L.. 
327.) 

This act was amended by an act passed May 11, 1908, which 
provides that — 

it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, upon request of the governor or 
Secretarv of Agriculture, to aid in carrying out the provisions of this act. (Chap. 162, 
35 Stat. L., 105.) 

REMOVALS OF DERELICTS. 

By act of May 12, 1906, Congress made provision for the construc- 
tion of a vessel, to constitute a part of the fleet of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, and to be used for the purpose of destroying derelicts and 
other floating dangers. Following is the wording of this act: 

That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to have constructed, at a 
cost not to exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a steam vessel specially 
fitted for and adapted to service at sea in bad weather, for the purpose of blowing up 
or otherwise destroying or towing into port wrecks, derelicts, and other floating dangers 
to navigation, said vessel to be operated and maintained by the Revenue-Cutter 
Service under such regulations as the Secretarv of the Treasurv mav r>vpgcribe. (Chan . 
2454, 34 Stat. L., 190.) 

In pursuance of this act and appropriations made from time to 
time by Congress, the Revenue-Cutter Service has had built a vessel 
known as the Seneca, which is being used for the purpose described 
in this act. 

ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS REGARDING MOTOR BOATS. 

By act of June 9, 1910, which is entitled "An act to amend laws for 
preventing coUisions of vessels and to regulate equipment of certain 
motor boats on the navigable waters of the United States," Congress 
prescribed in detail the regulations to be observed by motor boats. 



296 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

In respect to the enforcement of its provisions, section 8 of this act 
provides : 

That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall make such regulations as may be 
necessary to secure the proper execution of this act by collectors of customs and other 
officers of the Government. (Chap. 268, 36 Stat. L., 462.) 

ENFORCEMENT OF NAVIGATION AND OTHER LAWS GOVERNING MER- 
CHANT VESSELS. 

Among the duties of the service enumerated in the official regula- 
tions of the service is that of " the enforcement of the navigation and 
other laws governing merchant vessels." Although in the case of 
most of the duties enumerated in these regulations reference is made 
to the laws imposing such duties upon the service, no such reference 
is made in the case of the present duty. The performance of duties 
by the Revenue-Cutter Service in relation to the navigation and other 
laws governing merchant vessels other than those already considered 
under other heads must, therefore, rest upon general provisions of law 
conferring upon the Secretary of the Treasury general authority in 
respect to the navigation and merchant-marine laws of the country. 
Now that the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat-Inspection Serv- 
ice are under the Department of Commerce and Labor, it would seem 
that the Revenue-Cutter Service could take no action under this gen- 
eral head except as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, acting in 
pursuance of authority conferred upon him, called upon it for assist- 
ance. 

SUPPRESSION OF MUTINIES ON MERCHANT VESSELS. 

The suppression of mutinies on board merchant vessels is another 
duty of the service mentioned in the latter's official regulations in 
respect to which no reference to specific provision of law is made. Re- 
garding this duty the regulations contain the following provisions : 

Art. 157. He (the commanding officer) shall extend aid to officers of merchant 
vessels in suppressing mutinies on board their craft, taking such steps not inconsistent 
with law as the particular case may require. 

Art. 704. Officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service shall afford all the aid in their 
power, not inconsistent with their official duties, to the civil authorities in executing 
process in harbors, roadsteads, and adjacent coasts against persons charged with violat- 
ing the laws of the United States. 

At the request of the master or other officer in charge of any vessel, officers of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service shall use all the force at their command, if necessary, in quell- 
ing mutiny on board such vessel. 

PROTECTION OF WRECKED PROPERTY. 

The protection of wrecked property is likewise listed in the official 
regulations among the duties of the service without reference to any 
specific provision of law. In performing this duty the service is acting 
under what may be called its general powers, or because work of this 
character is deemed to be so analogous to that imposed by the law 
regarding the removal of wrecks, derelicts, and other dangers to navi- 
gation as to justify the service in doing this work. 



BEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 297 
FUNCTIONS OE ACTIVITIES OF THE SEEVICE. 

In the foregoing history of the Ke venue-Cutter Service the attempt 
has been made to trace chronologically the development of the serv- 
ice as regards the scope of its activities. In doing so the provisions 
of law imposing new duties, or, in accordance with which, new duties 
have been assumed as the result of executive or administrative 
action, have been reproduced in full. A listing of these duties shows 
that, according to the official regulations of the service and data 
furnished by the service to the commission, the Revenue-Cutter 
Service at the present time has, or claims to have at the present 
time, the following duties to perform: 

1. Protection of the customs revenues. 

2. Cooperation with the Navy. 

3. Enforcement of laws pertaining to the quarantine. 

4. Suppression of the slave trade. 

5. Enforcement of the neutrality laws. 

6. Protection of merchant vessels from piratical attacks and suppression of piracy. 

7. Protection of the timber reserves of the United States against depredations. 

8. Assistance of vessels in distress. 

9. Prevention of the violation of the immigration laws as provided in section 2163, 
Revised Statutes. 

10. Protection of seal fisheries and sea otter hunting grounds in Alaska. 

11. Suppression of illegal traffic in firearms, ammunition, and spirits in Alaska. 

12. Cooperation with the Life- Saving Service. 

13. Enforcement of certain laws relating to fisheries. 

14. Enforcement of certain laws relating to anchorage of vessels. 

15. Regulation and policing regattas and marine parades. 

16. Protection of game in Alaska. 

17. Destruction of derelicts at sea. 

18. Enforcement of laws regarding motor boats. 

19. Enforcement of the navigation and other laws governing merchant vessel.-. 

20. Suppression of mutinies on board merchant vessels. 

21. Protection of wrecked property. 

22. Establishment and maintenance of a refuge station at or near Point Barrow, 
Alaska. 

In addition to the foregoing specific duties the official regulations 
of the service mention the following as pertaining to the duties of 
the service : 

(1) The President may direct any vessel of the Revenue-Cutter Service to perform 
any duty or make any cruise which, in his judgment, may be necessary for the public 
service.' 

(2) The Secretary of the Treasury may direct the officers and vessels of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service to perform any duty which, in his judgment, may be necessary for the 
protection, collection, and security of the customs revenue. (R. S., 2758, 2762.) 

(3) For duty connected with the customs revenue, vessels of the Revenue- Cutter 
Service are subject to the direction of such collectors of the customs revenues, or other 
officers thereof, as from time to time mav be designated for that purpose by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. (R. S. , 2760.) 

(4) Vessels of the Revenue-Cutter Service shall be used exclusively for the public 
service, and in no way for private purposes. (Act July 7, 1884. ) 



29S REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
ORGANIZATION OF THE SERVICE. 

For the performance of these duties the Treasury Department 
maintains an administrative division known as " Division of the 
Revenue -Cutter Service/' a fleet of vessels and such auxiliary 
branches and institutions as depots, stores, or warehouses, a school 
of instruction, repair station, etc. The following outline of organi- 
zation, taken from the report of the commission on outlines of organ- 
ization of the Government, indicates more in detail the organization 
of the service as it existed on July 1, 1911 : 

1. Department of the Treasury. 
4. Assistant Secretary. 

5. Revenue- Cutter Service. 

1. General administration. 

1. Office proper of captain commandant and chief of division. 

2. Assistant chief of division. 

3. Chief clerk. 

4. Law clerk. 

5. Engineer in chief. 

6. Personnel. 

7. Supplies and outfits. 

8. Accounts. 

9. Mails and files. 

10. Superintendent of construction and repairs, Baltimore, Md. 

2. School of Instruction, New London, Conn. 

1. Practice cutter Itasca. 

3. Depot, Arundel Cove, Md. 

4. General Store, San Francisco, Cal. 

5. Revenue cutters, cruising. 

1. Acushmet. 

2. Algonquin. 

3. Androscoggin. 

4. Apache. 

5. Areata. 

6. Bear. 

7. Forward. 

8. Gresham. 

9. Manning. 

10. Mackinac. 

11. McCulloch. 

12. Mohawk. 

13. Morrill. 

14. Onondaga. 

15. Pamlico. 

16. Rush. 

17. Seminole. i 

18. Seneca. 

19. Snohomish. 

20. Tahoma. 

21. Thetis. 

22. Tuscarora. 

23. Windom. 

24. Winona. 

25. Woodbury. 

26. Yamacraw. 

6. Harbor cutters. 

1. Tugs. 

1. Davey (station, New Orleans, La.). 

2. Golden Gate (station, San Francisco, Cal.). 

3. Guthrie (station, Baltimore, Md.). 

4. Hartley (station, San Francisco, Cal.). 

5. Hudson (station, New York, N. Y.). 

6. Calumet (station, New York, N. Y.). 

7. Manhattan (station, New York, N. Y.). 

8. Winnisimment (station, Boston, Mass.). 

9. Wissahickon (station, Philadelphia, Pa.). 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 299 

1. Department of the Treasury — Continued. 
4. Assistant Secretary — Continued. 

5. Revenue-Cutter Service — Continued. 

6. Harbor cutters — Continued. 

2. Launches. 

1. Alert (station, Mobile Ala.). 

2. Guard (station, Port Townsend, Wash.). 

3. Guide (station, New York, N. Y.). 

4. Patrol (station, Chicago, 111.). 

5. Penrose (station, Pensacola, Fla.). 

6. Scout (station, Port Townsend, Wash.). 

7. Tybee (station, Savannah, Ga.). 

7. Supervisor of Inspection. 

1 . New York and vicinity. 

2. New Orleans and vicinity. 

3. San Francisco and vicinity. 

4. Port Townsend and vicinity. 

8. Supervisor of Anchorage. 

1. New York, N. Y. 

2. Saulte Ste. Marie, Mich. 

3. Chicago, 111. 

9. Officers on detail Life-Saving Service. 

The most significant feature of this scheme of organization is that 
it represents the maintenance of a complete naval establishment under 
the Treasury Department. Ever since the service was created unre- 
mitting efforts have been made by it, and by successive Secretaries of 
the Treasury, to have this feature recognized and provided for by 
Congress. These efforts have been successful with the result that, at 
the present time, every feature characteristic of the Naval Establish- 
ment proper is found in this service. Its vessels for deep-sea cruising 
are constructed as war vessels, are equipped with guns, and are main- 
tained and operated as vessels available for belligerant operations. 
The officers of the service bear naval titles, enjoy naval rank, and all 
the perquisites and emoluments in the way of salaries, retirement on 
three-quarters pay, quarters, fuel, light, etc., of naval officers. 

The men are enlisted as are the noncommissioned officers and 
mariners of the Navy. The regulations of the service provide for 
naval exercises, enforcement of discipline through naval methods, and 
the performance of all duties according to methods obtaining in a 
naval establishment that is maintained exclusively for naval opera- 
tions. Finally, a school of instruction is maintained at New London, 
Conn., for the purpose of performing the same function as that per- 
formed by the Naval Establishment proper by the Naval Academy at 
Annapolis, Md. 

No attempt is here made to describe in detail the manner in which 
this organization is operated, since such full information regarding 
this matter is contained in the printed regulations of the service. 



Exhibit No. 2 B. 

History or Efforts Looking to the Transfer of the Service 
from the Treasury Department to the Navy Department. 

Efforts looking to the transfer of the Revenue-Cutter Service from 
the Treasury Department to the Navy Department date from the 
organization of the service itself, since Alexander Hamilton, in urging 
upon Congress the creation of the service, recommended that its 



300 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

officers be made officers of the Navy. Congress, however, failed to 
accept this recommendation, and provided that the officers of the 
service should be deemed officers of the customs. 

Scarcely, however, had the service been organized than proposi- 
tions were brought forward looking to the transfer of the newly 
established service to the Navy Department, and these efforts have 
been continued at frequent intervals down to a comparatively recent 
date. 

The first of these efforts dates from February 4, 1796, less than six 
years after the service was established, and consisted in a petition 
presented to the Senate by a number of the officers of the service 
praying they "be placed upon the full Naval Establishment." This 
petition was referred to a special committee, which committee failed 
to make a report. 

During the period from about 1821 to 1832, officers of the Navy 
were detailed for duty on some of the revenue cutters. This practice 
was discontinued by the following circular letter of the Secretary of 
the Treasury: 

Treasury Department, January 17, 1832. 

Experience having shown that the employment of officers of the Navy in the 
Revenue-Cutter Service is liable to objection, it is deemed proper to discontinue the 
practice, and in future to keep the two services distinct and separate. 

In pursuance of this arrangement, and with the approbation of the Secretary of the 
Navy, all officers of the Navy now employed in the Revenue-Cutter Service will cease 
to be employed after the 30th of April next. 

And the President has directed that the commissions now held by such officers in 
the Cutter Service be revoked, the revocation to take effect after that day. 

With a view to greater efficiency in the Cutter Service in future, vacancies will be 
filled by promotion from among the officers in that service, when that shall be found 
preferable to other appointments, having regard to fitness as well as seniority. 

Louis McLane, 
Secretary of the Treasury. 

February 10, 1840, the House adopted a series of five resolutions, 
the second of which related to the Revenue-Cutter Service, and is as 
follows : 

Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the 
expediency of employing armed steamers in the Revenue Service instead of the vessels 
now in use, and of making that service a branch of the Navy in all respects, except 
so far as may be necessary to have the general direction of it with the Treasury Depart- 
ment. 

The committee failed to make the report required by the resolution. 
December 15, 1841, the Senate adopted the following: 

Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the 
expediency of abolishing the system of revenue cutters and of employing a part of the 
Navy of the United States in that service. 

Committee failed to make report. 

December 28, 1842, the following was adopted by the House: 

That a select committee of five be appointed * * * to inquire into the ex- 
pediency of employing armed steamers in the Revenue Service, and uniting it to the 
Navy, and using iron in the construction of said vessels, and report by bill or otherwise. 

Committee was appointed but made no report. 

February 2, 1843, the Senate unanimously adopted the following: 

Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the ex- 
pediency of abolishing the system of revenue cutters, and of employing a part of the 
Navy of the United States in that service. 



BBPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 301 

February 14. 1843, Mr. Huntingdon, from said committee, made 
the following report : 

The Revenue-Cutter Service was originally established "for the better securing of 
the collection of the duties imposed on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into 
the United States, and on the tonnage of ships and vessels." The protection of the 
revenue was the principal object which Congress had in view in authorizing the cut- 
ters to be built, and in promoting this object they have been principally employed. 
Their officers are declared by law to be officers of the customs, and are subject to the 
orders of the Treasury Department, carried into effect through the collectors or other 
officers of the customs. The duties required of those who have the command of these 
vessels are such as belong almost exclusively to the enforcement of the revenue laws. 
Hence, it seems to be peculiarly appropriate that those employed in this service should 
be under the direction and control of the officers who are charged with the execution 
of the laws relating to customs. This was the leading feature of the policy which led 
to the establishment of this branch of the public service. It has stood the test of time 
and experience and has worked well. To abandon it to try a new experiment would 
be. at best, hazardous, and is not called for by any exigency known to the committee. 

To substitute officers and vessels of the Navy for the performance of the duties now 
discharged by means of the revenue cutters, and which are peculiar to such service 
and have no connection with naval duties, is not demanded by reason of any defects 
in the existing system, nor any principle of true economy, nor any advantage it pos- 
sesses over the present arrangement. So far from this, the committee are satisfied that 
sound policy requires mat the revenue service and the naval service should be kept 
distinct, that the officers of the cutters should continue to be officers of the customs, 
responsible as such, confined to their appropriate duties, and under the direction of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, who is charged with the administration of the laws 
relating to customs. By this arrangement the cutters can have their stations assigned 
them where they will be most useful, and which can be changed from time to time, as 
the public service requires and without delay. They will be under the constant 
supervision of the collector, who. it is reasonable to presume from the nature of his 
official duties, will be able to give orders more promptly than any other person: their 
officers being civil officers will have no connection with the Navy, which is a distinct 
branch of the public service and whose officers are subject to different regulations and 
whose duties are more appropriate to the service in which they are engaged. 

If the Navy were to be employed in the place of the cutters, it must be under the 
direction of the Navy Department so far as the revenue service is concerned, or but 
little, if any. practical good would follow from its employment in this service. It is 
not believed to be expedient to create a new commanding officer in the Navy for 
this purpose. The committee would enlarge upon the general subject submitted to 
them, but they deem it unnecessary, inasmuch as they concur in the news of the 
Secretary of the Treasury in his letter to them, which they annex to this report and in 
which the obligations to the proposed change in the existing laws are concisely yet 
fully stated. They recommend, therefore, the adoption of the following: 

Resolved. That it is not expedient to abolish the system of revenue cutters and to 
employ a part of the Navy of the United States in that service. 

The resolution appended to the report was adopted. 
The follow ~ing is the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury to which 
reference is made in the foregoing report : 

Treasury Department, February 9, 184-3. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 2d 
instant, accompanied by a resolution of the Senate, directing the Committee on Com- 
merce to inquire into the expediency of abolishing the system of revenue cutters and 
of employing a part of the Navy of the United States in that service, and requesting 
the opinion of the department upon the subject. 

Concurring in the justness of your remark that a careful examination is due to a 
measure looking to so material a change in the revenue system as that proposed in the 
resolution. I have accordingly bestowed upon it such careful examination and reflec- 
tion as the pressure on my time and attention to other official business would permit, 
and I now have the honor to submit to the committee the following views on the sub- 
ject under consideration: 

There would seem to be a manifest propriety as required by the existing system in 
placing under the exclusive charge of the head' of the Treasury the means of enforcing 
all laws appertaining to the security and collection of the revenue, together with the 
power to direct and control all officers employed in that branch of the public service. 



302 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The resolution contemplates the abolishment of the present revenue-cutter system 
and employing in lieu of it a part of the Navy of the United States. By this arrange- 
ment officers detailed on this service would be subject for any misconduct or neglect 
of duty to the code of laws established for the government of the Navy. This, it is 
believed, would occasion vexations and difficulties calculated to embarrass the opera- 
tions of this department in carrying into effect with proper energy the legal means 
placed in its hands for the security and protection of the revenue. Besides, without 
intending any disparagement of the officers of the Navy, it is not believed that the 
habits and discipline of that meritorious class of men are calculated to suit the char- 
acter of the service to which it is proposed to assign them, especially when they must 
be subject to the orders and directions of the collectors of the customs, as provided by 
the 99th section of the act of March 2, 1799, which subjection is deemed highly essen- 
tial both for the efficiency of the duties to be discharged and the better security of 
the interests of the revenue. The correctness of this impression has already been 
partially tested by the experience of the department in the employment, some years 
back, of naval officers in the cutter service, which, after a short while, it was found 
necessary to discontinue, in consequence of the difficulties and objections which 
occurred in the practical operations of the measure. 

The officers at present attached to the cutter service are believed generally to be 
faithful, competent, and vigilant in the discharge of their duties, and under the exist- 
ing system, as established by law and regulations, it is thought that the revenue is 
better protected and violations of revenue laws more effectually guarded against than 
would probably be the case under the new system proposed. 

For the foregoing reasons I am decidedly of the opinion that it would not be an 
exercise of sound policy to adopt the measure contemplated by the resolution. 
Respectfully, yours, 

W. Forward, Secretary. 

Hon. J. W. Huntingdon, 

Chairman Committee on Commerce, United States Senate. 

M&y 13, 1846, the House having under consideration a bill to regu- 
late the appointment and promotion of officers of the Revenue Serv- 
ice it was recommitted to the Committee on Naval Affairs with 
instructions — 

To strike out all of the enacting clause and report a bill to the House providing that 
all vessels now engaged in the Revenue-Marine Service of the United States, or now 
building for the same, and under the control of the Treasury Department, be transferred 
to the control of the Navy Department for public service, and subject in all respects 
to the regulations thereof, as established by law. 

The above elicited discussion, which is recorded in the Congressional 
Globe, Twenty-ninth Congress, first session, pages 811, 812. 

January 15, 1859, in a plan submitted to the Senate by the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, Mr. Howell Cobb, for the revision and consolida- 
tion of the revenue laws, no provision is made for the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, and the following is said in relation to that service: 4 

Another branch of expenditures now charged to the expense of collecting the reve- 
nue grows out of the Revenue-Cutter Service. * * * 

For what purpose is this service kept up? If the object is to aid our customhouse 
. officers in the collection of the revenue by enabling them to board and examine ves- 
sels entering their ports, it can be dispensed with. Other arrangements less expen- 
sive and more effective should be substituted. At the larger ports there could be 
kept small steam tugs, which would involve much less expenditure and at the same 
time be more useful, whilst at other ports the present arrangements have been found 
sufficient for all necessary purposes. 

There are, however, two other objects contemplated in keeping up the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, first, the prevention of smuggling, and, second, the relief afforded to 
vessels in distress on our coast. 

It is submitted to the consideration of Congress whether both these objects can not 
be better accomplished by the naval service. 

The gradual increase of naval vessels, and especially that class which would be best 
suited to these objects, is a policy which commends itself very strongly to our favorable 
consideration. In carrying out such a policy I see no good reason why this expenditure 
now imposed upon the revenue may not be saved, and that, too, without adding 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 303 

materially to the expense of the Navy. The most serious objection which has occurred 
to my mind is the disposition of the officers now attached to the Revenue-Cutter 
Service. Many of them have long been connected with it, and it would seem a harsh 
judgment to discharge them unceremoniously from the public service. To incorporate 
them into the Navy is attended with objections and difficulties which seem to be 
insurmountable. They might, however, be transferred and attached to the jurisdic- 
tion of the Navy Department, and continue in the public service until their present 
commissions should terminate by death, resignation, or removal, and the power should 
be given to transfer to an assimilated rank in the Navy those who might, by meritorious 
conduct, prove themselves worthy of it. * * * 

This report was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. 
January 21, 1859, the Senate adopted the following: 

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy be directed to inform the Senate whether, 
in his opinion, it would be expedient to transfer the Revenue-Cutter Service from the 
Treasury to the Navy Department, and in what manner that transfei can be made so 
as to perform most effectually the service required of it and contribute at the same 
time to our coast defense. 

February 8, 1859, the following report of the Secretary of the 
Navy, made in compliance with the above resolution, was laid before 
the Senate and referred to its Committee on Naval Affairs. 

(This report, with its inclosure, was not printed.) 

Navy Department, 
Washington, February 7, 1859. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the resolution of the Senate of 
the 21st ultimo, directing the Secretary of the Navy to inform the Senate ''whether, 
in his opinion, it would be expedient to transfer the Revenue-Cutter Service from the 
Treasury to the Navy Department, and in what manner that transfer can be made so 
as to perform most effectually the service required of it and to contribute at the same 
time to our coast defense." 

For the purpose of obtaining the views of naval officers of experience upon the points 

of the resolution, it was referred to the heads of the Bureaus of Yards and Docks and 

Ordnance and Hydrography for a report, a copy of which is respectfully transmitted. 

I concur generally in their views, and am of opinion that the transfer suggested 

would be inexpedient. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Isaac Toucey. 
Hon. John C. Breckinridge, 

Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate. 

The report referred to by Mr. Secretary Toucey is as follows : 

Navy Department, January 24, 1859. 

Sir : We have the honor to acknowledge the reference of the resolution of the Senate 
in regard to the expediency of transferring the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treas- 
ury to the Navy Department, and we beg leave, respectfully, to report as follows: 

The undersigned have considered the three points of the resolution and are of 
opinion — 

(1) That the transfer is of very doubtful expediency, because if transferred to the 
Navy difficulties might arise in arranging a joint jurisdiction. The service neces- 
sarily would be under naval laws and regulations, but for all revenue purposes con- 
trolled by the Treasury Department for the proper protection of the customs. 

(2) Should a transfer be made and the present revenue system be abolished, the 
vessels would be placed under the command of naval officers and subject to the laws 
and rules which govern the Navy. If, however, the revenue officers be retained, the 
subject of assimilating rank in the two services would be an embarrassing one, and, 
indeed, it would be almost impossible to arrange this delicate question, as the grades 
and rank are dissimilar and might operate unjustly and oppressively to the officers of 
one or the other branch of the service . 

(3) The revenue vessels are of small size, say from 80 to 180 tons, mounting only 
guns of light caliber, and it can not be expected, therefore, that they can render 
very efficient service in coast or harbor defense, yet we are of opinion that if these 
vessels were manned, furnished, equipped, and governed by naval officers they 
would be rendered more effective for coast defense than as now constituted. And 

37542— H. Doc. 670. 62-2 20 



304 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

we are further of opinion that the element of steam is indispensible to the greater 
efficiency of revenue vessels on the seacoast. 

Very respectfully, Joseph Smith, 

Chief of Bureau of Yards and Docks. 
D. N. Ingraham, 
Chief of Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography . 
The Secretary of the Navy. 

December 4, 1860, in his annual report for 1860, the Secretary of 
the Treasury, Mr. Howell Cobb, invites attention to his report of 
January 15, 1859, submitting a bill for the revision and consolidation 
of the revenue laws, and continues: 

With the exception of the Harriet Lane, there are none but sail vessels employed in 
the Revenue Service. * * * 

I have before represented to Congress that this service could be transferred to the 
Navy Department, with benefit to the public service, and I think so still. If this 
should not be done * * * steam vessels should be substituted for the sail vessels 
now used. * * * 

In 1882 and 1883, Hon. William E. Chandler, Secretary of the 
Navy, in his annual reports for those years urged in the strongest way 
that the Revenue-Cutter Service, as well as certain other services 
having to do with maritime affairs, be transferred to his department. 

Following are extracts from his reports for 1882 and 1883 bearing 
on this subject: 

[Extract from report of Secretary Chandler for 1882.] 
THE REVENUE-MARINE AND LIFE-SAVING SERVICES. 

The Revenue-Cutter Service affords a proper field for the employment of naval 
•officers. The duty is directly in the line of their profession. They are fitted for it 
both by training and experience, and if they could be so employed without detriment 
to the interests of the existing corps of officers, a great and permanent benefit to the 
Government and to the Navy would result. 

The service of the cruising cutters is strictly naval. The duties of the officers are 
not distinguishable in kind from those of naval officers. The discipline is naval, as 
far as naval discipline can be carried on outside the Navy Department. 

The cruising cutters carry an armament of from one to four guns. The crew are 
armed with small arms. The broadside guns are furnished by the Navy Department. 
In time of war these vessels have always been pressed into the naval service. 

The experience acquired by junior naval officers, if employed in the cutter service, 
in cruising on our coast, and in assisting vessels in distress, would be of direct benefit 
in their profession and to the country in case of war. They would acquire a famil- 
iarity with the coast and a knowledge of local pilotage that could not otherwise be 
obtained. They would have practice in the handling of small vessels under difficult 
circumstances. Employed at first in the lowest rank, they would readily acquire 
whatever might be new or peculiar in this branch of the service. 

Two training schools are maintained to do the work of one. The Naval Academy 
at Annapolis is supplied with a full corps of instructors and every appliance for the 
training at all times of 335 naval cadets. At the same time, another school is main- 
tained at New Bedford for the training of Revenue-Marine cadets, covering the same 
ground, only in a limited degree, and with imperfect appliances. The Revenue- 
Marine cadets receive $900 a year during their service at the school. Recent legisla- 
tion has provided that only a part of each graduating class at Annapolis shall enter 
the Navy, while the remainder shall be given a year's pay and remanded to private 
life. All these young men, upon whom the Government has bestowed a gratuitous 
education, are well fitted for their profession, from which they are thus excluded; 
and by opening the cruising cutter service to these graduates of the Naval Acad- 
emy the Government will save at a single stroke the whole cost of a duplicate 
. establishment. 

In order to harmonize all the interests involved in connecting naval officers with 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, the administration of the two services should be com- 
bined under the Navy Department. The cruising cutters should be transferred to 
the Navy Department; but they should be assigned to duty in the various districts, 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 305 

.as at present, upon the requisition of the Secretary of the Treasury, and their move- 
ments may be directed for the time being by the collectors of customs. The present 
Revenue-Marine officers should become a corps in the Navy, receiving life commis- 
sions as naval officers, with all the rights and privileges that belong to such commis- 
sions, while the vacancies gradually made at the foot of the list should be supplied 
by the detail of junior officers of the Navy of corresponding grade for service on board 
the cutters. It is not proposed to remove the present officers of the Revenue Marine, 
or to take away or abridge, in the slightest degree, their privileges or emoluments. 
On the contrary, they would retain all that they now enjoy, and, without reexamina- 
tion or a new test of any kind, would receive in addition the benefits of a permanent 
naval commission. Vacancies in the upper grades should continue to be filled by 
promotion in the corps, and naval officers should only be detailed as vacancies are 
made at the bottom of the list. The duties of the Revenue-Marine officers would re- 
main the same as they now are; and it should be particularly provided, in any change 
that might be made, that their position should in no way be altered, except by giving 
all, including the engineers, the same permanency of tenure now enjoyed only by 
naval officers, and the same right of being placed upon the retired list of the Navy 
in case of extreme age or disability — changes in every respect advantageous . 

If it is not the policy of the Government to make appropriations for sufficient ships 
of war to give adequate occupations to all our naval officers, it should certainly make 
use of them in every branch of the public service for which they are fitted . A highly 
trained corps of officers, such as modern naval warfare demands, can not be created 
in a day. If the personnel of the Navy is to be kept at its present standard of quality 
and numbers, it must be utilized in every form of government employment for which 
it is adapted. In this view it hardly admits of question that the Revenue Marine 
should be joined with the Navy. No disturbance of vested interests would be caused 
by the transfer; on the contrary, every provision would be made to guard against 
such a disturbance. But a new field would be opened for the services of officers 
already at the disposal of the Government which by their training they are in every 
way qualified to occupy. 

[Extract from report of Secretary Chandler for 1883.] 

THE REVENUE MARINE AND THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 

The duties of the Revenue Marine, as officially defined, consist in cruising for the 
prevention of illicit trade, and for the enforcement of certain laws applicable to ship- 
ping, particularly those requiring the registry, enrollment, and license of vessels, 
compelling life-saving appliances to be kept therein, the name and hailing port to be 
affixed, and lights to be exhibited; prohibiting the overloading of passengers, assessing 
the marine-hospital tax, and aiding in the quarantine service of the States. The 
cutters further assist in enforcing the neutrality laws, and those for the suppression 
of piracy, and for the protection of the timber reserves. They are also called upon 
to prevent unlawful traffic in rum and firearms in Alaska; to protect the seal fisheries, 
to suppress mutinies and extinguish fires on board merchant vessels, and to carry out 
the laws in aid of distressed seamen. 

Several of these duties, such as the enforcement of the neutrality laws, the suppres- 
sion of piracy, of mutinies on board merchant vessels, and the like, the ships of the 
Navy are now charged with and actually perform in common with revenue vessels. 
Of the rest, there is not one that is foreign to the general purpose and scope of the 
naval officer's profession. The only duty connected directly with the customs is that 
of the seizure of smugglers — a duty which is precisely similar to the naval officer's 
duty of searching and seizing during war vessels engaged in contraband trade. It 
requires a knowledge of the statutes relating to the subject, a knowledge not very 
difficult to acquire, but beyond this nothing that is outside of a naval officer's neces- 
sary training. The duties of both services are identical in their general nature, only 
they operate in different localities. Both cruise to protect the maritime interests of 
the Government, and to render assistance to American vessels — the one on the coast, 
the other, in addition, at sea and in foreign waters. One polices the shore, the other 
the ocean. In war both engage in naval operations. 

The practical identitv in the character of the naval and the Revenue-Marine Service 
lies in the fact that they are both nautical and both military. That the Revenue 
Marine is a nautical service requires no proof. It is nothing if not nautical. That 
it is a military service was officially asserted by the Treasury Department in the report 
on the service for 1881, in these words: 

"The Revenue Marine, while charged by law with the performance of important 
civil duties, is essentially military in its character. Each vessel is provided with 



306 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

great guns, and furnished with as full a complement of small arms for its crew as any 
ship of war. Its officers are required to be proficient in military drill, and possess a 
thorough knowledge of the uses of both great and small arms. Its crews are required 
to be instructed from day to day at the great guns and in the use of the carbine, pistol, 
and cutlass. Commanding officers are required, while boarding vessels arriving in 
ports of the United States, in case of the failure or refusal of any such vessel, on being 
nailed, to come to, and submit to the proper inspection by an officer of the service, to 
fire, first across her bows as a warning, and in case of persistent refusal, to resort to shot 
or shell to compel obedience. In the performance of this work, they are likely at any 
time to receive injuries, and be subjected to the same dangers in time of peace as the 
force employed on naval vessels. 

"By the act of March 2, 1779, it is provided that 'the revenue cutters shall, whenever 
the President so directs, cooperate with the Navy.' It will be observed that the coop- 
eration of the two services prescribed in the act ab.ove quoted is not contingent upon a 
state of war or other particular perilous conditions. On the contrary, it may take place 
in time of peace and for pacific purposes, and when less hazard is involved to the two 
services than pertains to the discharge by a revenue vessel of its ordinary duties. 
* * * It is difficult to conceive that discrimination could be made by the law be- 
tween services subjected to equally hazardous and equally important military duties, 
both in time of peace and in time of war. * * * Objection to granting pensions 
for the Revenue-Marine officers and seamen has been made on the ground that such 
action would be extending this bounty to civil employees of the Government, a policy 
to which our legislative traditions, so to speak, are opposed. But if in legal theory 
they are civil employees, are they so in fact? Are they less positively a part of our 
military force in time of war than the Army or Navy? It is true revenue vessels are 
not to be ordered into action on purely military service, offensive or defensive, except 
the President so direct; neither are vessels of the Navy." 

The above clear and precise statement, showing that the so-called Revenue Marine 
is simply a coast navy, is without doubt correct and just. 

It is because it forms a part of Government work in which officers and seamen are 
employed to navigate Government vessels at sea, from port to port, that it may fitly 
become a part of the Naval Establishment. If the present system of military instruc- 
tion is so defective that the officers of the Revenue Navy are not made naval officers, it 
would seem that some other system should be adopted to that end, seeing that they are 
" subjected to equally important and equally hazardous military duties, both in time 
of peace and in time of war, ' ' and that they are no less positively "a part of our military 
force in time of war than the Army or Navy . ' ' If, on the other hand, naval officers now 
have too little practice in coast navigation, a method should be devised of giving them 
such practice at once, for there is nothing more essential than this to success in the 
operations of modern warfare. 

The plan proposed with these objects in view included the transfer to the Navy 
Department of the cruising cutters, their officers and seamen. 

Mr. Chandler's recommendation was based in part at least upon a 
paper, which, upon his order, was prepared by Mr. George H. Peters, 
under the title of "The Revenue-Marine Service," which was pub- 
lished in his annual report for 1882. Following is a copy of this paper: 

1. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY. 

The necessity for a Revenue-Marine Service was early recognized. 

At the second session of the First Congress, in an act providing "more effectually 
for the collection of the duties on imports" (Aug. 4, 1790), the following provision 
was adopted: 

"That the President of the United States be empowered to cause to be built and 
equipped so many boats and cutters, not exceeding ten, as may be necessary to be 
employed for the protection of the revenue, the expense whereof shall not exceed 
ten thousand dollars, which shall be paid out of the product of the duties on goods, 
wares, and merchandise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships 
or vessels." 1 

The next section provided that there should be to each of the said boats or cutters 
one master and not more than three mates — first, second, and third — four mariners, 
and two boys, and provided for their compensation and subsistence. Section 64 of 
the same act provided that the officers of the said boats or cutters should be appointed 
by the President of the United States, and should be deemed officers of the customs, 
and it prescribed the power and authority of said officers. 

1 Stat. L., ch. xxxv, sec. 62, vol. 1, p. 175. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 307 

The expense of constructing new revenue cutters, authorized by Congress from 
time to time, was defrayed in the manner prescribed in section 62 of this act until 
March 3, 1845. 

The provisions of section 64 of the above act were reenacted, with additions, in 
section 99 of the act of March 2, 1799. * 

That these small vessels might be very usefully employed in the public service in 
various ways, in addition to their duties as revenue vessels, soon became apparent. 
The first recognition of this by Congress is found in a joint resolution approved March 
20, 1794, which authorized the President to employ as dispatch boats such of the 
Tevenue cutters of the United States as the public exigencies might require. 

The act of May 6, 1796, 2 again increased the compensation of officers and crews of 
revenue cutters, and provided that one-half of the penalties, fines, and forfeitures 
resulting from information given by any officer of a revenue cutter should go to the 
officers of such cutter. The same act authorized the President to cause such vessels 
as became unfit for service to be sold, and to cause others to be built or purchased in 
their place. 

The provisions of this act, which authorized the sale of inefficient vessels and their 
replacement by new ones, were reenacted in section 100 of the act of March 2, 1799. 3 
This policy is well worthy of consideration; to it is due, in a great degree, the efficient 
public service afterwards performed by these vessels. 

Our troubled foreign relations, particularly with France, caused the passage of the 
act of July 1, 1797, providing a naval armament, in the twelfth section of which 
-authority was given to the President 4 to increase the strength of the several revenue 
cutters, so that the number of men employed did not exceed 30 marines and seamen 
to each cutter; "and cause the said revenue cutters to be employed to defend the sea- 
coast and to repel any hostility to their vessels and commerce within their jurisdic- 
tion, having due regard to the duty of the said cutters in the protection of revenue." 

An act of June 22, 1798, amended the foregoing by authorizing the President to 
increase the strength of any revenue cutter, for the purpose of defense against hostili- 
ties near the seacoast, by employing on board the same not exceeding 70 marines and 
seamen. 

The few but judicious enactments heretofore mentioned had thus placed in the pub- 
lic service a number of 'just such vessels as were then necessary for special service in 
our naval squadrons as tenders and dispatch boats. The functions of the executive 
departments of the Government were more elastic than now, not having become fixed 
by many years of routine and precedent, and the President was able to give his per- 
sonal attention more fully to details; and a special limited transfer of authority from 
one department to another in time of war could be more easily effected than at present. 
The efficiency and value of the revenue cutters for naval purposes was apparent, and 
accordingly, by section 3 of "An act for the augmentation of the Navy," approved 
February 25, 1799, 5 the President was authorized: 

"To place on the naval establishment, and employ accordingly, all or any of the ves- 
sels which as revenue cutters have been increased in force and employed in the de- 
fense of the seacoast; * * * and thereupon the officers and crews of such vessels 
may be allowed, at the discretion of the President of the United States, the pay, sub- 
sistence, advantages, and compensations, proportionably to the rates of such vessels, 
and shall be governed by the rules and discipline which are or which shall be estab- 
lished for the Navy of the United States." 

Certain civil duties which still remain in force were given the revenue cutters by the 
act approved the same day as the preceding, February 25, 1799. This act authorizes 
and requires the masters of revenue cutters, as well as certain other officers of the 
United States, to aid in the execution of quarantine and health laws as they may be 
directed, from time to time, by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

The act of March 2, 1799, entitled "An act to regulate the collection of duties on 
imports and tonnage," 6 passed at the third session of the Fifth Congress, repealed 
preceding acts relating to the same subject, and contained, in sections 97, 98, 99, 100, 
and 102, 7 more specific and detailed legislation relative to the Revenue-Cutter Service 
than had been before adopted. As much of this legislation still remains in force, these 
sections are transcribed: 

1 An act supplementary to the first mentioned (Mar. 2, 1793, Stat. L., session II, chap, xxiv, v. 1, p. 336) 
provided, in section 7, that the President might increase the complement of mariners to the cutters. This 
act also increased the compensation of oT.cers and mariners and authorized the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury to contract for the supply of rations. 

2 Stat. L., ch. xxii, vol. 1, p. 462. 

3 Ibid., p. 700. 
* Ibid., p. 525. 
'Ibid., p. 621. 

5 Stat. L., vol. 1, p. 627. 
7 Ibid., pp. 699, 700. 



308 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

"Sec. 97. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be 
empowered, for the better securing the collection of the duties imposed on goods, wares, 
and merchandise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships or 
vessels, to cause to be built and equipped so many revenue cutters, not exceeding ten, 
as may be necessary to be employed for the protection of the revenue, the expense 
whereof shall be paid out of the products of the duties on goods, wares, and merchan- 
dise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships or vessels. 

"Sec 98. And be it further enacted, That there shall be to each of the said revenue 
cutters one captain or master, and not more than three lieutenants or mates, first, 
second, and third, and not more than seventy men, including noncommissioned 
officers, gunners, and mariners. And the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby author- 
ized to cause contracts to be made for the supply of rations for the officers and men of 
the said revenue cutters: Provided, That the said revenue cutters shall, whenever the 
President of the United States shall so direct, cooperate with the Navy of the United 
States, during which time they shall be under the direction of the Secretary of the 
Navy, and the expenses thereof shall be defrayed by the agents of the Navy Depart- 
ment. 

"Sec. 99. And be it further enacted, That the officers of the said revenue cutters 
shall be appointed by the President of the United States, and shall respectively be 
deemed officers of the customs, and shall be subject to the direction of such collectors 
of the revenue, or other officers thereof, as from time to time shall be designated for that 
purpose; they shall have power and authority, and are hereby required and directed, 
to go on board all ships or vessels which shall arrive within the United States or within 
four leagues of the coast thereof, if bound for the United States, and to search and 
examine the same, and every part thereof, and to demand, receive, and certify the 
manifests hereinbefore required to be on board certain ships or vessels, and to affix 
and put proper fastenings on the hatches and other communications with the hold of 
any ship or vessel, and to remain on board the said ships and vessels until they arrive 
at the port or place of their destination. It shall likewise be the duty of the master or 
other person having at any time the command of any of the said revenue cutters to 
make a weekly return to the collector, or other officer of the district under whose 
direction they are placed, of the transactions of the cutter under their command, 
specifying therein the vessels that have been boarded, their names and descriptions, 
the names of the masters, and from what port or place they last sailed, whether laden 
or in ballast, whether ships or vessels of the United States, or to what other nation 
belonging, and whether they have the necessary manifest or manifests of their cargoes 
on board, and generally all such matters as it may be necessary for the collectors or 
other officers of the customs to be made acquainted with; and the officers of the said 
cutters shall likewise execute and perform such other duties for the collection and 
security of the revenue as from time to time shall be enjoined and directed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury not contrary to law and the provisions hereinbefore con- 
tained. 

"Sec 100. And be it further enacted, That the President be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to cause other revenue cutters to be built or purchased in lieu of such as 
are or shall from time to time become unfit for further service, and to cause such as are 
so become unfit for further service to be sold at public auction, and the proceeds of 
such sales to be paid into the Treasury of the United States. And the expense of pur- 
chasing other cutters as aforesaid, as well as all future expenses of building, purchasing, 
or repairing revenue cutters, shall be paid out of the product of the duties on goods, 
wares, or merchandise imported into the United States, and on the tonnage of ships or 
vessels. 

"Sec 102. And be it further enacted, That the cutters and boats employed in the 
service of the revenue shall be distinguished from other vessels by an ensign and pend- 
ant, with such marks thereon as shall be prescribed and directed by the President of 
the United States; and in case any ship or vessel liable to seizure or examination shall 
not bring to on being required or being chased by any cutter or boat having displayed 
the pendant and ensign prescribed for vessels in the revenue service, it shall be lawful: 
for the captain, master, or other person having command of such cutter or boat to fire 
at or into such vessel which shall not bring to after such pendant and ensign shall be 
hoisted and a gun shall have been fired by such cutter or boat as a signal; and such 
captain, master, or other person as aforesaid, and all persons acting by or under his 
direction, shall be indemnified from any penalties or actions for damages for so doing; 
and if any persons shall be killed or wounded by such firing, and the captain, master, 
or other person aforesaid shall be prosecuted or arrested therefor, such captain, master, 
or other person shall be forthwith admitted to bail. And if any ship, vessel, or boat 
not employed in the service of the revenue shall, within the jurisdiction of the United 
States, carry or hoist any pendant or ensign prescribed for vessels in the service afore- 



KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 30$ 

said, the master or commander of the ship or vessel so offending shall forfeit and pay 
one hundred dollars." 

Duties in connection with the suppression of the slave trade arose under the act of 
May 10, 1800, x which forbids citizens of the United States to have any interest in ves- 
sels engaged in the slave trade, or to serve on board such vessels, and authorizes the 
seizure of vessels violating said act by "any of the commissioned vessels of the United 
States." 

An act of March 22, 1794, 2 had already prohibited the building or fitting out of any 
vessel in the United States to engage in the slave trade. 

More than a decade of years now passed by without any legislation relative to the 
Revenue Marine, except that the act of March 2, 1807, contained further provisions 
relative to the use of the public armed vessels in the suppression of the slave trade, 3 
and that by an act of January 6, 1809, 4 the President was authorized to procure 12 
additional revenue cutters. 

The services of the officers and crews of the revenue cutters, whilst cooperating with 
the Navy in the public defense, had been such as to merit recognition and reward from 
the Government, and an act was approved April 18, 1814, 5 which provided — 

"That the officers and seamen of the revenue cutters of the United States, who have 
been or may be wounded or disabled in the discharge of their duty whilst cooperating 
with the Navy by order of the President of the United States, shall be entitled to be 
placed on the Navy pension list, at the same rate of pension and under the same regu- 
lations and restrictions as are now provided by law for the officers and seamen of the 
Navy." 

This is to-day the only general provision of law authorizing the payment of pensions 
in the Revenue-Marine Service. 

Again, a long term of years elapsed during which no legislation was adopted with 
reference to the Revenue-Marine Service. During this period several acts were passed, 
however, incidentally prescribing new duties for the revenue cutters, to which brief 
reference will be made. They are the following: 

The act of March 1, 1817, 6 relative to the public timber reservations, section 3 pro- 
vides that any vessel unlawfully taking on board timber from the public lands shall be 
wholly forfeited. 

The neutrality law, enacted April 20, 1818. 7 

The act of March 3, 1819, 8 authorizing the President to employ the public armed 
vessels to protect merchant vessels from piratical aggressions, and the act of May 15, 
1820, 9 continuing the same provisions in force, and further defining piracy. Both these 
soon expired by limitation. 

The act of March 3, 1825, 10 providing for the forfeiture of any vessel engaged in carry- 
ing to a foreign port any property taken from wrecks on the coast of Florida, and pro- 
viding that such property shall be brought to a port of entry of the United States. 

The act of March 2, 1833, n section 3 of which provides for the preventing by officers 
of the customs of depredations on the live-oak timber growing on the public lands of 
the United States. 

An act was approved December 22, 1837, 12 under which it has been customary to 
assign a most important duty to certain revenue cutters. This act provides — 

" That the President of the United States be, and hereby is, authorized to cause any 
suitable number of public vessels, adapted to the purpose, to cruise upon the coast, in 
the severe portion of the season, when the public service will allow of it, and to afford 
such aid to distressed navigators as their circumstances and necessities may require; 
and such public vessels shall go to sea prepared fully to render such assistance. " 

After the passage of the foregoing act several naval vessels were ordered on this 
service with eight of the cutters, but the men-of-war proved to be too large and un- 
wieldy for the coast service and were soon withdrawn. 

Certain defects in the mode of defraying the expenses of constructing or procuring 
revenue cutters, which had been in force since 1790, led to the passage of ' 'An act 
relating to revenue cutters and steamers," over the President's veto, March 3, 1845. 13 
It provides — 

"That no revenue cutter or revenue steamer shall hereafter be built (except such as 
are now in the course of building and equipment) nor purchased, unless an appropri- 
ation be first made by law therefor. ' ' 

i Stat. L., ch. 51, vol. 2, pp. 70, 71. 8 Ibid., ch. 77, vol. 3, pp. 510, 511. 

2 Ibid., ch. 11, vol. 1, pp. 347, 348. » Ibid., ch. 113, vol. 3, pp. 600, 601. 

3 Ibid., ch. 22, sec. 7, vol. 2, p. 428. "> Ibid., ch. 107, vol. 4, pp. 132, 133. 
* Ibid., ch., 0, vol. 2, p. 505. u Ibid., ch. 67, vol. 4, p. 647. 

s Ibid., vol. 2, p. 127. 12 Ibid., vol. 5, p. 208. 

« Ibid., ch. 22, vol. 3, p. 347. is Ibid., vol. 5, p. 795. 

' Ibid., ch. 88, vol. 3, pp. 447, 448. 



310 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Under this act specific appropriations have been made from time to time for the con- 
struction and equipment of new revenue cutter?, as shown by the following statement 
of amounts appropriated for this purpose: 

Aug. 12, 1848, for six cutters $90, 000 

Aug. 31, 1852, for not less than six cutters 90, 000 

Mar. 2, 1855, for four cutters 60, 000 

Aug. 18, 1856, for six small cutters 45, 000 

Feb. 5, 1857, for one cutter 150, 000 

July 24, 1861 for (no number specified) cutters 450, 000 

Dec. 20, 1864, for not more than six cutters, service on the Lakes 1, 000, 000 

Mar. 3, 1869, for four cutters 300, 000 

Dec. 22, 1870, for (no number specified) cutters 300, 000 

June 10, 1872, for (no number specified) cutters 200, 000 

June 23, 1874, for one (for Pacific coast) cutter 125, 000 

Mar. 3, 1881, for rebuilding one cutter 1 75, 000 

Mar. 3, 1881, for one cutter 75, 000 

Mar. 6, 1882, for rebuilding one cutter x 25, 000 

Aug. 7, 1882, for rebuilding one cutter 75, 000 

Aug. 7, 1882, for two steam launches 16, 000 

The first provision for the appointment of engineers in the Revenue Service appeared 
in the naval appropriation act approved March 3, 1845, which authorized the appoint- 
ment of six engineers by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to be employed in the Revenue Service of the United States, and for 
the appointment of six assistant engineers by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
to be employed in the like service; one engineer and one assistant engineer 
to be assigned to each steamer, if the same should be deemed necessary by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, who was authorized to prescribe the duties of these officers. Provision 
was also made for their pay, engineers to receive the same pay as first lieutenants in the 
Revenue Service, and assistant engineers the same pay as third lieutenants in the 
Revenue Service. 2 

An act of March 2, 1855, after appropriating money for several new vessels, provides 
that no person shall be appointed to the office of captain, first, second, or third lieu- 
tenant of any revenue cutter who does not adduce competent proof of proficiency and 
skill in navigation and seamanship. 3 This provision still remains in force. 

By an act of August 18, 1856, authority was given to sell two revenue cutters then on 
the Great Lakes, and the proceeds, with $45,000 in addition, were appropriated to be 
used for building six cutters of about 50 tons each for service on the Lakes. 4 Section 3 
of this act fixed the complement of officers for each of these cutters at two, one to be a 
captain or first lieutenant, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

By an act of June 1, I860, 5 the benefits of the Government Hospital for the Insane 
were extended to insane persons in the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

The war-collection act of July 13, 1861. provides that the President may employ 
such other suitable vessels as may in his judgment be required, in addition to the reve- 
nue cutters in service, to execute the revenue laws. 6 

Thus provision was made for employing naval vessels to perform the work assigned 
to revenue cutters in time of peace. The experience of the past has shown that it is 
necessary for the Government in cases of emergency to be able to employ every one of 
the public vessels in just that kind of public service for which each particular vessel 
may be best fitted. 

Before the outbreak of the rebellion, Congress had been dilatory about appropriat- 
ing, under the act of March 3, 1845, money for steamers of the class rendered necessary 
by the wonderful advance in steam navigation. A number of very small steamers 
had been authorized at various times, but the usefulness of these for general purposes 
was past. Only one steamer adapted to the changed conditions of navigation was in 
the service, and this was too valuable for naval service not to be so utilized. Under 
these circumstances it became necessary to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury 
to dispose of the antiquated sailing craft and inefficient steam launches then in service 
and replace them with more modern vessels, and accordingly the act of July 25, 1861, 7 
was passed. 

Section 1 increased the compensation of officers and provided for two grades of pay, 
duty pay, and leave of absence or waiting orders pay. 

i The W. P. Fessendeti. 5 Ibid., ch. 66, vol. 12, p. 23. 

2 Stat. L., ch. 77, sec. 7, vol. 5, p. 794. 6 ibid., ch. 3, sec. 7, vol. 12, p. 257. 

3 Ibid., ch. 141, sec. 2. vol. 10, p. 630. ' Ibid., ch. 20, vol. 12, p. 275. 
< Ibid., ch. 129, vol. 11, p. 90. 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 311 

Section 2 prescribed the number of officers, but closed with a proviso, which, taken 
in conjunction with the final section (6), left the whole matter of the number and 
detail of officers in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Section 3 empowered the Secretary of the Treasury to direct the performance of 
any service by the revenue vessels which might in his judgment be necessary for the 
protection of the revenue. 

Section 4 authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to dispose of unsuitable vessels 
and to substitute others, provided that no expenditure should be incurred beyond 
the specific appropriation therefor. 

Section 5 provided for the transfer of the steamer Harriet Lane to the Navy. 

Section 6 provided for the appointment of additional engineers when necessary. 

An act was approved August 5, 1861, l under which certain duties of a military 
nature might be assigned to revenue cutters. This act provides that vessels intended 
for piratical aggressions may be seized at sea or in port, and authorizes the President 
to employ the public armed vessels for this service. 

An act of February 4, 1863, in relation to the commissioned officers of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, is still in force. 2 It provides that the commissioned officers of the 
service shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate. 

Section 2 provides that the grades of engineers shall be chief engineers, first and 
second assistant engineers, with the pay and relative rank of first, second, and third 
lieutenants, respectively. 

Section 3 provides that the wages of petty officers and crews shall not exceed the 
average wages paid for like services on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, respectively, 
in the merchant service. 

Section 4 provides that the officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service, when serving in 
accordance with law, as part of the Navy, shall be entitled to relative rank as follows: 
Captains, with and next after lieutenants commanding in the Navy; first lieutenants, 
with and next after lieutenants in the Navy; second lieutenants, with and next 
after masters in line in the Navy; third lieutenants with and next after passed mid- 
shipmen in the Navy; provided that no change of rank by this act shall increase the 
pay of any officer. 

The concluding section shows that the naval service of the revenue cutters had been 
such as to make it necessary to define the relative rank of their officers while associated 
with officers of the Navy. In the Revised Statutes, the wording of the act is changed 
so that third lieutenants rank with and next after ensigns in the Navy. 3 

An act of April 20, 1866, 4 authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to sell any reve- 
nue cutters ill adapted to the service and to expend the proceeds of such sales in pro- 
curing other vessels. 

An act approved February 28, 1867, 5 fixed the pay of the officers of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service. 

An act of March 2, 1867, provided that where any fine, penalty, or forfeiture incurred 
by virtue of the laws relating to customs should be recovered in consequence of any 
iniormation given by an officer of a revenue cutter, one-half of the proceeds, after the 
legal deductions had been made, should go to the officers of such revenue cutter to be 
divided among them in proportion to their pay. 6 

The payment of any share of fines, penalties, or forfeitures under the customs-reve- 
nue laws to any informer or to any officer of the United States was abolished in 1874, 
as stated fully below. 

The act of July 20, 1868, making appropriations for sundry civil expenses, made 
detailed and specific appropriations for the Revenue-Cutter Service, with the provi- 
sion that thereafter no expenses of the service should be paid out of any other fund 
than that therein specified. It also directed the Secretary of the Treasury to lay up 
every revenue cutter of the Atlantic coast, bays, and gulfs not actually required for 
constant service. 7 

Revenue cutters on the Great Lakes are specially charged with aiding vessels in dis- 
tress by a provision of an act of July 15, 1870. 8 

An appropriation act of June 10, 1872, contains the provision "That all life-saving 
stations hereafter erected shall be erected under the supervision of two captains of 
the Revenue Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury and to be 
under his direction. " 9 

i Stat. L., vol. 12, pp. 314, 315. 6 ibid., ch. 188, vol. 14, pp. 546, 547. 

2 Ibid., ch. 20, vol. 12, pp. 639, 640. ' Ibid., ch. .177, vol. 15, pp. 113, 114. 

3 Revised Statutes, sec. 1492. 8 Ibid., ch. 292, sec. 3, vol. 16, p. 309. 
< Stat. L., ch. 63, sec. 2, vol. 14, p. 40. » Ibid., ch. 415, vol. 17, p. 347. 

5 Ibid., ch. 101, vol. 14, p. 416. 



312 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY* 

Since 1874 the officers of the revenue cutters have not been entitled to any share of 
lines, penalties, or forfeitures resulting from information given by any of them. An 
act of June 22, 1874, J repealed all provisions of law which had authorized such disposi- 
tion of any part of fines, etc., but provided for the payment of rewards in certain cases, 
at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, out of a special appropriation for 
that purpose. 

In 1876 the number in the lowest grade of commissioned officers in the Navy had not 
reached the limit fixed by law, but the number of cadets annually graduating from the 
Naval Academy was more than sufficient to supply the waste of the service. Notwith- 
standing this fact Congress authorized in an appropriation act what was the beginning- 
of another and independent training system to provide officers for work similar to that 
for which the Naval Academy afforded thorough preparation. 

In the appropriation act of July 31, 1876, after the regular annual appropriation for 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, the following occurs: 

"Provided, That hereafter, upon the occurring of a vacancy in the grade of third 
lieutenant in the Revenue-Marine Service, the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint 
a cadet not less than eighteen nor more than twenty-five years of age, with rank next 
below that of third lieutenant, whose pay shall be three-fourths that of a third lieu- 
tenant, and who shall not be appointed to a higher grade until he shall have served 
a satisfactory probationary term of two years and passed the examination required by 
the regulations of said service, and upon the promotion of such cadet another may be 
appointed in his stead; but the whole number of third lieutenants and cadets shall at 
no time exceed the number of third lieutenants now authorized by law." 2 

Under this act the Government obtained two classes of cadets undergoing a separate- 
training for what is in reality one profession. 

The detail of officers of the Revenue Marine for the performance of certain duties in 
connection with the Life-Saving Service was authorized by an act fully organizing the 
latter, approved June 18, 1878. This act provides: 

"That the Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or officers of the Revenue- 
Marine Service as may be necessary to act as inspector and assistant inspectors of 
stations, who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service 
as may be required of them by the general superintendent." 3 

An appropriation act of June 20, 1878, appropriated $25,000 to enable the Secretary 
of the Treasury to use and maintain a revenue steamer or steamers for the enforcement 
of the provisions of law and protection of the interests of the Government on the seal 
islands and sea-otter hunting grounds and of Alaska generally and provides that when 
said revenue vessel or vessels are sent the United States mail shall be carried therein. 4 
A similar appropriation has been made annually since that time. Thus important 
naval police duties devolve upon certain officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

Recognition of certain war service of the officers and men of the Revenue Marine 
was given in an act of February 19, 1879, which provided for the payment of three 
months' extra pay to the officers and men of the Navy, the Revenue-Marine Service, 
and the Army employed in the Mexican War. 5 

Recent acts which incidentally affect the routine duties of the Revenue-Marine 
Service are the act of May 6, 1882, suspending the immigration of Chinese laborers, 
and the passenger act approved August 2, 1882. 

With a view of affording information concerning the cost of maintaining this service 
and information relating to vessels now building, it may be stated that an appropria- 
tion act of August 7, 1882, appropriates $875,000 for expenses of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883. 

The same act contains in addition the annual provision relative to maintaining 
revenue cutters in Alaska waters, appropriating therefor $25,000. 

This act also appropriates for one steamer for duty on the southern coast, or for 
rebuilding the Commodore Perry with iron hull, as the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
determine, $75,000. Under this provision the Commodore Perry is now rebuilding with 
iron hull. 

An act of August 7, 1882, also appropriates for the construction of two steam launches 
for service in Mobile Harbor, Ala., and Galveston Harbor, Tex., the sum of $16,000. 

Note. — In the foregoing, reference has not been made, as a rule, to the collection 
acts which incidentally regulate and define certain rights, powers, and duties of cus- 
toms officers, unless such acts had some important bearing on the growth and develop- 
ment of the Revenue-Marine Service. 

i Stat. L.. ch. 391 , vol. 18, p. 186. * ibid., ch. 359, vol. 20, p. 212. 

2 Tbid., ch. 246, vol. 19, p. 107. 5 Ibid., ch. 90, vol. 20, p. 316. 

s Ibid., ch. 265, sec. 8, vol. 20, p. 164. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 313 

2. ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY. 

As may be seen by reviewing the legislation relating to the development of the 
Revenue-Marine Service, the President was authorized to institute the service, and 
was directly charged in the earlier acts of Congress with various duties in connection 
therewith. 

But the Revenue-Cutter Service required a more detailed supervision than the 
President could give it. The officers of the cutters were officers of the customs, and 
there was no special department solely charged with the administrative control of 
maritime affairs until the organization of the Navy Department in 1798, while the 
Revenue -Cutter Service was authorized as early as 1790. Thus the service came under 
the control of the Treasury Department, and has so continued until the present time. 

In 1868 or 1869 a Revenue-Marine and Steamboat-Inspection Division was consti- 
tuted in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury. Afterwards the Revenue-Marine 
Division was formed as a separate division, and this plan still continues in force. 

A subject which should be mentioned in speaking of the administrative history of 
this service is the movement, which took practical shape in 1869, having for its object 
the effecting of certain reforms and a reorganization of the service in the interests of 
economy and efficiency. 

Owing to the employment, through the exigencies of war, of vessels not adapted to 
the service, and to the absence of adequate examinations as tests of the professional, 
mental, and moral fitness of the officers, the efficiency of the Revenue -Marine Service 
was impaired and its cost rendered greater than was necessary. To partially remedy 
this state of affairs, a commission was appointed in the summer of 1869 for the general 
and professional examination of all the officers employed, and upon its report 39 officers 
were discharged, and those who were approved were assigned to duty and given rank 
according to their merits. Since that time all officers appointed or promoted to fill 
vacancies have first demonstrated their fitness for the position in an examination. 
In cases of promotion these examinations have generally been competitive. Examin- 
ing boards have been appointed from time to time, at irregular intervals varying from 
a year to a year and a half, for the examination of several officers at the head of each 
grade. The names of the officers examined have been arranged in order of merit, as 
determined by the examination, and promotions made in accordance therewith. 
The passing of such examinations has not carried with it the assurance of speedy pro- 
motion, as other boards have sometimes been appointed before the list of names arranged 
by the preceding one was exhausted, and those not yet promoted have been required 
to appear, being placed on the same status as those not previously examined. 

December 16, 1869, another commission was appointed to — 

''Consider and report upon the character of vessels best adapted for the Revenue- 
Marine Service, together with such views and conclusions upon other matters as might 
appear calculated to advance the interests of the service." 

The report of this special commission mentioned some of the duties of the revenue 
cutters, and, keeping in view these duties, three classes of steamers and a certain 
number of schooners were recommended, the size of the vessels recommended for 
particular stations being based principally upon their having the least amount of ton- 
nage consistent with the efficient performance of all their duties. 

The report made specific recommendations with reference to the number of vessels,, 
their stations and headquarters, and the particular class of vessel desirable for every 
station on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the Pacific coast, and on the Lakes. Sugges- 
tions were also made relating to the construction, rig, and machinery of the vessels 
proposed. 

The condition of the vessels in service under the system then in operation was con- 
sidered, and the expensesof that system were compared with those of the proposed 
plan. The necessity for immediate reorganization in the interest of economy was 
urged, and the sale of old vessels and substitution of the new ones was advocated. 

A prospective reduction of the personnel was recommended and also a reduction in 
the wages of crews. A schedule of wages proposed was appended, which also gave 
the complement for the new vessels of each class. 

The regular employment of pilots was deprecated, and estimates were submitted 
showing the probable annual expenditure necessary if the proposed plan were adopted 
and illustrating the saving that might be effected. 

In conclusion the report stated that — 

" In order to secure the successful operation of this system, or any other looking to 
the promotion of the public interests, it is essentially important that the service 
should be conducted under stringent regulations, from which the highest authority- 
alone can authorize any departure." 



314 EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The recommendations of this special commission, in so far as they relate to vessels, 
have been steadily kept in view during the past 12 years and followed so far as prac- 
ticable, and whatever degree of efficiency the Revenue-Marine Service may have 
to-day is largely due to a steady adherence to the plan of disposing of such vessels as 
are not adapted to present needs and substituting others more in accordance with the 
requirements of the day. 

When the Revenue-Cutter Service was first authorized, at the second session of the 
First Congress, the employment of the revenue cutters against a public enemy was 
probably not contemplated. As has been seen, the general control of the revenue 
cutters fell to the Treasury Department, but early provision was made for the coop- 
eration of the revenue cutters with the Navy upon the order of the President. In 
accordance therewith, revenue cutters have been employed in every war in which 
the country has been involved, and while so cooperating with the Navy their admin- 
istrative control has been vested in the Navy Department. A brief statement follows 
of the naval war service performed by the revenue cutters: 

Eight revenue vessels were employed in the French War, viz, two brigs, five 
schooners, and one sloop. Each carried from 10 to 14 guns, and they were employed 
in our different naval squadrons in the West Indies, doing efficient service until the 
close of the war in 1801. They made a number of captures, two of them in particular 
being each credited with four in the years 1799 and 1800. These captures were mostly 
letters of marque carrying from 2 to 12 guns, fitted out to prey on our commerce. The 
valuable service rendered the country in diminishing their depredations is well shown 
by the fact that the rates of marine insurance were reduced one-half, mainly in con- 
sequence of our operations in the West Indies. 

In the War of 1812 the revenue cutters did good service in the defense of our coasts 
and the protection of the coasting trade. Three of them were given special credit 
for the capture of armed vessels in 1813. 

In the War with Mexico the revenue cutters again rendered valuable service, eight 
of them having been ordered to cooperate with the Navy in the military operations 
against that country. Some of the harbors, having a bar at the entrance, were difficult 
of approach to large vessels, while the revenue cutters, owing to their light draft, could 
enter them easily. Two of these vessels, each carrying six guns, took part in the 
expedition against Frontera and Tobasco, under Commodore M. C. Perry, the service 
rendered by the revenue cutter Forward eliciting special praise from the commodore . 

The revenue steamer Harriet Lane was ordered by the President to cooperate with the 
Navy in the expedition to Paraguay, and rendered good service. 

At the outbreak of the rebellion, the revenue cutters were mostly antiquated in 
type and inefficient even for the special purpose for which they were built. There 
was one suited to the wants of the Navy, the Harriet Lane, which was promptly utilized 
by the Navy Department, and became a part of the regular naval force. The Cuyahoga, 
the Miami, and others did good service in joining in the pursuit of rebel privateers 
along the coast, and a number of small tugs hastily purchased and fitted out were of 
the greatest use in preventing supplies and mails passing from Maryland into Virginia. 
These remained under the control of the Treasury Department. The E. A. Stevens, 
sometimes styled the Naugatuck, participated in some of the memorable events of the 
war. Thus the revenue cutters which were in efficient condition for such service were 
used in the prosecution of the war. 

While the officers of the Revenue Marine have cooperated with the Navy in time of 
war, it was once customary for naval officers to serve on board revenue cutters in time 
of peace. In 1821 several naval officers, most of whom were midshipmen, obtained 
furloughs for one year, with permission to enter the Revenue-Cutter Service tempo- 
rarily, and this practice continued until 1832, the term of service in some cases con- 
tinuing for several years. Among those employed on board the revenue cutters were 
the present vice admiral of the Navy, and others who have since won distinction. 
The number of naval officers employed in this way increased very rapidly about 
1830-31, but the movement being a spasmodic one and not the result of any well- 
considered plan, it presented objectionable features, and was brought to an end in 
1832. A number of officers resigned their commissions to accept permanent service 
in the Revenue Marine. 

During the period of their temporary employment in the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
the relations of naval officers to that service and to the Navy Department were such 
that this movement can not be properly compared with any plan by which the admin- 
istrative control of the service would be vested in the Navy Department. 

3. PRESENT STATUS. 

General administration. — The whole Revenue -Marine Service is under the direction 
of the Secretary of the Treasury. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 315 

The Secretary of the Treasury designates the collector of customs under whose super- 
intendence each vessel shall be placed, controls the purchase or building and equip- 
ment of revenue vessels, and also all necessary repairs, alterations, or changes in the 
vessels. He controls the assignment of cruising grounds; determines the number and 
relative rank of officers, and details them for service; fixes the ratings, number, and pay 
of petty officers, seamen, and others to be employed on board each vessel. He controls 
the purchase of outfits and supplies and the making of all contracts; the preparation 
and enforcement of general regulations for the government of the service, and for the 
examination, admission, and government of Revenue-Marine cadets. 

In practice, the affairs of the service are assigned to one of the divisions in the Secre- 
tary's office, the Revenue Marine Division, which has immediate charge of all matters 
pertaining to this service, including, in addition to those detailed in the preceding 
paragraph, the examination and certification of revenue vessels, payrolls, and accounts 
of disbursements for the service by collectors of customs, and the examination of the 
property accounts of officers. 

To this division is assigned the examination of matters coming before the Secretary 
relating to the Lighthouse Board or to the Coast Survey. The same division has charge 
of matters relating to weights and measures upon which the Secretary is required by 
law to act. 

In the Revenue Marine Division are employed a chief of division, an assistant chief, 
10 clerks, and a stenographer. All are appointed by the Secretary, and no one has any 
responsibility or authority except as derived from him. 

The supervision of the construction of revenue vessels, and of important repairs, is 
assigned to an office of construction, which is in New York City. A captain in the 
Revenue Marine is at the head of this office as general superintendent of construction. 
There are also on duty in this office other officers of the Revenue Marine as assistants. 
The superintendent of the engineer's department in this office is a consulting engineer 
from civil life. 

The number of officers in the service on October 1, 1881, was as follows: Captains, 
34; first lieutenants, 33; second lieutenants. 32; third lieutenants, 21; chief engineers, 
22; first assistant engineers, 17; second assistant engineers, 26. 

In addition to the above there were, on October 1, 1881, 13 cadets. 

The captains, lieutenants, and chief engineers of this service are commissioned 
officers, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. The assistant engineers are appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, but 
they are regarded as officers of the service. The cadets are appointed by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, the appointments being based on the results of competitive examina- 
tions. 

The number of petty officers, seamen, and others employed in the Revenue-Marine 
Service is nearly 800, varying from time to time according to the requirements of the 
service. 

Vessels. — At the date of the last published Report of the Operations of the Revenue- 
Marine Service (November, 1881), there were 36 revenue vessels, as follows: 

Screw propellers: 

First class 2 

Second class 8 

Third class 10 

Side-wheel steamers: 

First class 2 

Second class 5 

Third class 1 

Side propeller (vessel of peculiar construction) 1 

Steam launches 2 

Bark (sails only ; training vessel) 1 

Sloops (sails only) .' 4 

Total 36 

In addition to these, two new vessels were building; one at Wilmington, Del., and 
the other at Baltimore, Md. 

The steamers are classed according to tonnage and construction. Propellers of 350 
tons or over are assigned to the first class; those of about 250 tons, to the second class; 
and those of 150 tons or less, to the third class. Side-wheel steamers are given a lower 
classification than propellers of like tonnage. In some instances the classification 
appears to be arbitrary. 

The largest vessel is a side-wheel steamer of 500 tons; the smallest, excepting the 
steam launches, is a third-class propeller of 32 tons. 



316 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The training bark is a vessel of 154 tons. The steam launches are boats of 15 tons 
and the sloops range from 10 tons to 15 tons.. 

The complement of the larger vessels is 7 officers and from 18 to 33 men; that of the 
smaller vessels is 1 or 2 officers and from 1 to 9 men. 

At the date of the report to which reference has been made, there were employed: 
Fifteen steamers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, three steamers on the Pacific coast, 
three steamers on the Great Lakes, one training vessel, in Buzzard's Bay; four sloops 
having special inner-water cruising grounds, eight steam vessels performing harbor 
duty. Two steamers were out of commission undergoing repairs. 

The armament of a revenue cutter is from 1 to 4 guns. Full provision is made for 
arming the crew with small arms. The broadside guns are naval guns furnished to 
the Revenue Marine by the Navy Department. 

The revenue cutters have a distinctive ensign and pennant, which no other vessels 
are permitted to carry within the jurisdiction of the United States. 

Duties. — The duties of the Revenue-Marine Service are such as pertain to the security 
of the customs revenue; the assistance of vessels in distress; the protection of wrecked 
property; the enforcement of the neutrality laws; the suppression of traffic in firearms 
and intoxicating liquors in Alaskan waters; the prevention of invasion of the seal 
fisheries by unauthorized persons; the enforcement of quarantine; the protection 
of merchant vessels from piratical attacks; the prevention of depredations by vessels 
upon the timber reserves; the enforcement of the laws governing merchant vessels, 
including the laws relating to name, hailing port, etc., the laws with regard to license, 
enrollment, and registry of merchant vessels, and the laws which require that life- 
saving appliances shall be carried, that passenger vessels shall not be overloaded, 
that true returns of marine-hospital moneys shall be rendered by masters of vessels; 
that vessels shall show the proper lights at night; that merchant steamers shall carry 
the evidences that their hull and machinery have been properly inspected, and that 
their officers are licensed. 

The officers of the Revenue-Marine Service are required to report any disarrange- 
ment of the aids to navigation on our coasts which may come under their notice. 
They^ are frequently called upon to suppress mutinies on board merchant vessels. 
Special duties are assigned to them in connection with the Life-Saving Service. 
Certain officers are given supervisory duties in connection with the construction and 
repair of vessels. Officers of the service are detailed from time to time to serve on 
boards. 

The routine duties of the officers of the revenue cutters in the protection of the 
customs revenue against fraud arise under section 99 of the act of March 2, 1799. 
This section has already been referred to in connection with the legislative history 
of the service. 

The cruising grounds of the revenue cutters are so arranged as to include the entire 
coast line of the United States, except that portion lying between Fernandina, Fla., 
and Cape Florida, which is a dangerous coast. In this part of the coast of Florida are 
two small inlets which vessels of light draft might possibly attempt to enter, but these 
inlets are guarded by the keepers of life-saving stations, acting as inspectors of customs. 
One of the vessels on the Pacific coast is detailed from time to time to cruise in Alaskan 
waters. 

A revenue cutter in service is assigned to a particular station and has definite head- 
quarters, butthe proper execution of her duties requires her to be almost constantly 
under way, either moving about in harbor or cruising along the coast. 

The revenue cutters assigned to harbor duty are used to put customs officials on 
board vessels entering the harbor and to guard generally against infractions of the 
customs revenue. They are used mainly as boarding tugs. 

Revenue vessels on harbor duty may be called upon to render special service in 
the protection of shipping against fire, in addition to their regular duties. 

The steady employment given the revenue cutters in cruising, going in and out of 
harbor, and moving about our harbors, is evident from the statement of work per- 
formed during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, viz: 

Aggregate number of miles cruised 982, 027 

Number of vessels boarded and examined 29, 101 

Number of vessels seized or reported for violating law 3, 163 

Number of vessels in distress assisted 148 

Number of pesons rescued from drowning 141 

In addition to the practice incident to the performance of the regular duties in the 
protection of the revenue, much valuable and varied experience is gained by the 
officers of the revenue cutters in the management of their vessels under circumstances 
which require skill and cool judgment. This may be best illustrated by an example 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 317 

and one is given of the special services and assistance rendered, in addition to regular 
duties, for the year ending June 30, 1881: 

[By the steamer Dexter, headquarters at Newport, E. I.] 

July 16, 1880. — Found American schooner Lexington ashore on Cape Poge; hauled 
her off and towed her into Edgartown Harbor, Mass. 

August 25, 1880. — Found American schooner John H. Gould aground at Goat Island ; 
hauled her off and towed her to safe anchorage. 

September 11, 1880. — Towed into Newport Harbor schooner Maria, disabled near 
Point Judith. 

November 19, 1880. — Sloop Red Rover, at anchor in Newport Harbor with mutinous 
crew on board; master asked assistance; sent off and afforded necessary help in 
quelling mutiny. 

November 22, 1880.— Took steam derrick Will, and steamer Rescue, belonging to 
Coast Wrecking Co. (the latter in distress with a broken shaft), in tow from West Passage, 
Narragansett Bay, to safe anchorage in Dutch Island Harbor. 

December 30, 1880. — Found sloop Peerless in distress near Warwick Neck Lighthouse, 
in dangerous position; leaking, crew frostbitten, sails split, centerboard and pumps 
frozen; towed her within a few miles of Providence. 

December 31, 1880. — Assisted steamer Wyoming, of Philadelphia, off Beaver Tail. 

December 31, 1880.— Found schooner N. J. Miller ashore in Coaster's Harbor; 
hauled her off and towed her into Newport. 

January 6, 1881. — In company with the revenue steamer Gallatin, rendered assist- 
ance to 32 vessels beset in the ice in Hyannis Harbor. 

January 11, 1881. — Found American schooner F. L. Richardson 7 miles SSW. from 
Montauk Point, leaking badly and in danger of sinking; towed her into New London. 

January 16, 1881. — Rendered necessary assistance to Italian bark Machiavelli, 4 
miles NW. by N. from Montauk Point, 131 days from Alexandria, Egypt; out of pro- 
visions^ 

January 18, 1881. — Found schooner Alfred W. Fish one-half mile SW. of Half Way 
Hock, ashore on a rock; hauled her off and towed her to Bristol Ferry. 

January 29, 1881. — Assisted lightboat Dove, in danger of being swept from her 
moorings. 

February 8, 1881. — Schooner Hiawatha and bark Ada Barton, out of provisions and 
water, off Brentons Reef Lightship; supplied them with provisions and towed them 
into Newport. 

February 9, 1881. — Found bark Norton Stover icebound three-fourths mile distant 
from Nobsque Point, NW., and rendered her assistance. 

April 12, 1881 .—Hauled schooner W. H. Foy off Middle Ground Shoal. 

May 1, 1881. — Hauled off schooner George Gurney, ashore near Little Lime Rock, 
Newport Harbor. 

This is not an exceptional case, but is chosen'nierely'm order to give an example. 
This same vessel during a period of about a year and a half made 41 visits to the several 
stations in the third life-saving district, delivering supplies, etc. 

Duties in connection with the Life-Saving Service. — In accordance with the act of 
June 18, 1878, nine captains, two first lieutenants, and five second lieutenants have 
teen detailed to perform duty in connection with the Life-Saving Service. Of these, 
three captains, two first lieutenants, and one second lieutenant devote their services 
exclusively to that duty; the others are also performing duty in connection with their 
own service proper. 1 

The revenue cutters generally convey to the life-saving stations the revenue-marine 
officers assigned to the duty of inspecting the stations and exercising and instructing 
the crews in the use of the boats, apparatus, and other life-saving appliances. The 
cutters sometimes transport to the stations articles of outfit and supplies. 

Relations of the collectors of customs to the revenue cutters. — The officers of the revenue 
cutters are, by law, officers of the customs service, and subject as such to the direction 
of collectors in certain matters. 

The commanding officer of any revenue cutter is required by law to make a weekly 
retum to the collector under whose direction his vessel is placed of the transactions of 
the cutter, specifying the vessels that have been boarded, and giving such information 
concerning them as it may be necessary for the officers of the customs to know. 

All communications from officers of revenue cutters to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
or other higher authority, are, as a rule, transmitted through the proper collectors; 
and in all ordinary cases, orders, directions, and instructions in regard to the duties 

i Treasury Department Document No. 233, November, 1881, p. 24. 



318 EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

and movements, equipments, and repairs of revenue vessels are given by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, through the collectors under whose orders the vessels may be serving. 
All reports of needed repairs to vessels or machinery, estimates of damages received 
in assisting vessels in distress, and reports of offenses of officers, as well as routine 
communications, are forwarded through the collector. 

The officers and crews of revenue cutters are paid monthly by the collector, under 
special regulations governing the mode of payment. 

Requisitions for provisions, supplies, repairs, and outfits are made in triplicate by 
the commanding officer and transmitted to the collector. When authorized, the 
collector countersigns them. 

Rations or provisions for the crews of revenue vessels are when practicable pro- 
cured by contract upon bids, after advertisement, under instructions from the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury. 

Proposals for supplies or for any article for the use of the service are received by 
the collector, who opens and examines the same in accordance with certain regula- 
tions and makes a report to the Secretary of the Treasury. When a bid is accepted 
by the Secretary, the collector has a contract drawn in triplicate and duly executed 
and transmits the same to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

When repairs are authorized in accordance with the recommendation of the com- 
manding officer and approving indorsement of the collector, the collector obtains 
written proposals from three proper parties when practicable and transmits these to 
the Secretary of the Treasury. When it is decided by whom the repairs shall be 
made, the collector executes a written contract with the party designated and trans- 
mits the same to the Secretary of the Treasury for his approval. 

All authorized articles of supply or outfit for a revenue cutter, for supplying which 
there is no written or approved contract, are purchased by the collector under whose 
superintendence the vessel may be, or, with his approval, by the commanding officer 
of the vessel. 

The commanding officers of revenue cutters superintend all works of repair, alter- 
ation, or refitting unless otherwise directed, and chief engineers supervise the repairs 
of engines and boilers. 

The office of construction has general control and supervision of any extensive 
repairs. 

The cadet system.- — Cadets have been appointed in accordance with the act of July 
31, 1876, providing for the appointment of Revenue-Marine cadets as vacancies oc- 
curred in the grade of third lieutenant, the whole number of third lieutenants and 
cadets not to exceed the number of third lieutenants then allowed by law, and the 
cadets to have a probationary term of two years, with a final examination. 

All the cadets are assigned to duty on board a sailing vessel, the revenue cutter 
Salmon P. Chase, a bark of about 150 tons burden, which is stationed at New Bed- 
ford, Mass., where she performs the work of a revenue cutter, and the cadets receive 
their scholastic and practical training on board. The Chase carries four guns. She 
makes an annual sea cruise of about three months in order that the cadets may receive 
practical instruction in seamanship and navigation. The cruise begins immediately 
after the close of the school year in June. 

There are two classes of cadets on board the Chase, known as the senior and junior 
classes. In 1881-82 the cadets numbered 12 in all. 

The junior class enters in June and is put immediately on board ship. At the 
same time the senior class graduates. After passing the graduating examination the 
members of the senior class undergo another examination for appointment as third 
lieutenants. 

The school ship is commanded by a captain in the Revenue Marine, who has gen- 
eral charge of the instruction of the cadets. The officers of the vessel are the instruc- 
tors in seamanship, navigation, and the duties of an officer on board a revenue vessel. 
There is an instructor in nonprofessional studies. 

Applicants for appointment as cadets must be between 18 and 25 years of age. 
The general regulations governing admission to the school are similar to those in 
force at the Naval Academy. The entering examination is competitive, open to all 
who apply, and of those who pass successfully the best are appointed to fill existing 
vacancies. 

The course of study and instruction includes seamanship, navigation, gunnery, 
mathematics, history, English language, composition and rhetoric, natural philoso- 
phy, steam engineering, law (including revenue law and international law), astronomy, 
and practical exercises in seamanship, navigation, gunnery, and the Army signal code. 

In seamanship the course is similar to that at Annapolis, as far as time will permit. 
The same textbook, Luce's Seamanship, is used. There is, of course, no instruction 
in naval tactics, nor is there any in naval architecture, nor even in shipbuilding- 
Seamanship is, of course, largely taught on the cruise. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 319 

The course in navigation is practical. In connection with the exercises in the use 
of nautical instruments, Bowditch's Navigator is employed as a textbook, but this 
work does not treat of the theory of navigation to any extent. The course in trigo- 
nometry gives some elementary instruction in the theory of navigation. 

The instruction in gunnery is also almost entirely practical, the exercises with how- 
itzers and small arms on board ship being only supplemented by the use as a textbook 
of a small and almost obsolete gunnery catechism once much used in the Navy. 

The school year is divided into two terms, the first of 14 weeks, the second of 20. 
The following statement will illustrate the relative importance given to the several 
nonprofessional branches, showing the period through which instruction in each of 
the several branches extends: 

For the junior class. 

Weeks. 

Arithmetic 10 

Algebra 14 

Geometry 20 

History 24 

English language 14 

Composition and rhetoric, 10 exercises in composition. 

For the senior class. 

Algebra 4 

Geometry 10 

Trigonometry 12 

Natural philosophy 10 

Steam engineering 8 

Constitutional law 14 

Revenue law 12 

International law 16 

Astronomy 16 

Composition, 7 exercises in composition. 

It' is evident that, from the time allowed, the course of study really pursued must 
be in many respects elementary. 

4. REASONS FOR INCORPORATING THE REVENUE-MARINE SERVICE AS A BRANCH OP 
THE NAVAL ESTABLISHMENT. 

In the absence of any comprehensive and carefully developed plan of organization 
and administration founded on the experience of the present century, the Revenue- 
Marine Service is a branch of the Treasury Department; but its administrative control 
does not come properly within the scope of operations of a civil department of the 
Government. 

The Navy Department was not organized until 1798, while the Treasury Department 
was of necessity one of the first executive departments organized when the machinery 
of government was put in operation, and many things connected with our maritime 
interests were assigned to it. Thus it now includes many diverse branches of the 
public service not germane to the finance department. One of these is the Revenue 
Marine. 

It is necessary that the movements of revenue cutters should be directed by col- 
lectors of customs in the performance of certain local duties for the protection of the 
revenue. This is a matter of local customs administration which it is not desirable 
to change; but this carries with it no necessity whatever for the general administra- 
tive control of the service at large remaining in the Treasury Department. To pro- 
mote its efficiency the service should be subject to naval law and discipline, and should 
be established as an arm of the Navy, having certain special duties, in the performance 
of which it should cooperate with customs officials. 

The Revenue-Marine is essentially a naval service . The revenue cutters carry naval 
guns, for which requisition is made on the Secretary of the Navy as the necessity 
arises, and full provision is made for arming the crew with small arms. Their officers 
are required to be proficient in naval drills, and must possess a practical knowledge 
of the use of arms. The officers and crews of the revenue cutters are uniformed, and a 
daily routine, naval in character, is observed, including exercises at great guns and 
in the use of small arms. All this is done with a view to the performance of the mili- 
tary duties devolved upon the Revenue-Marine Service, which is required, either by 
law or by regulation, not only to protect the revenue but to aid in enforcing nearly 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 21 



320 KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

every statute affecting the maritime interests of the country. By acts of Congress, 
the officers of the service may be required to aid in the suppression of piracy, in the 
enforcement of quarantine laws, and in preventing the violation of neutrality laws. 
They are frequently called upon to suppress mutinies on board merchant vessels. 
They are authorized to use the armament of their vessels, when necessary, to compel 
other vessels to come to for examination. 

To further show the naval character of the service, attention is called to the fact 
t hat revenue cutters and their officers and crews have participated in all the wars in 
which the country has been involved, as has been more fully detailed elsewhere. 

In this connection it may be well to quote from the report of the special commission 
appointed in 1869, to which reference has been elsewhere made. The members of 
the commission, a majority of whom were Revenue-Marine officers, say in their report: 

"In order to secure the successful operation of this system, or any other looking to 
the promotion of the public interests, it is essentially important that the service 
should be conducted under stringent regulations, from which the highest authority 
alone can authorize any departure." 

The Committee on Commerce in the House of Representatives reported at the first 
session of the present Congress as follows: 

"Under existing law there is no specific authority for investigating or punishing any 
infractions of discipline on the part of officers or men of the Revenue Marine, except 
by the extreme punishment of removal from the service, a course which seems alto- 
gether too harsh in cases of minor offense." 

The needs suggested by these quotations would be met by a transfer of this important 
naval arm of the Government to the Navy Department. 

Though the principle is not carried out in practice, it is universally recognized as 
correct, that a nation having so small a military establishment as ours should in time 
of peace adopt every provision which will facilitate the utilization of all available 
means of defense on the sudden outbreak of war. Manifestly, such of the revenue 
cutters as may be necessary in this event can be used with more efficiency and greater 
expedition, at a period when the saving of time may be all important, if their employ- 
ment does not necessitate a sudden transfer of authority from one department of the 
Government to another. Furthermore, a practical, smoothly working system, which 
will bring together in one department of the Government full knowledge of the capa- 
bilities of every public vessel for any required service in case of emergency, and the 
necessary control of such vessels, can only be properly matured and put in operation 
in time of peace. 

No one doubts the absolute necessity during war of utilizing all the maritime re- 
sources of the Government. Small vessels are particularly essential, especially at the 
beginning of a war, and it will be found in the future, as it has invariably been found in 
the past, that the Government is compelled to make use of the revenue cutters for 
war purposes. Hence the service should be essentially naval in its character, and should 
be readily available for naval purposes in war. This object can only be fully secured 
by connecting it closely with the Naval Establishment, giving its officers a naval train- 
ing, and carrying out naval discipline on board its vessels. 

The appointment of graduates of the Naval Academy to fill vacancies in the Revenue- 
Marine Service would result beneficially in the knowledge they would gain of the 
pilotage and navigation of our own coast and harbors. 

Our naval officers have too little opportunity for gaining a knowledge of the pilotage 
of our own waters. This knowledge can only be gained by experience. Cruising in 
war vessels does not give the requisite practice; most of them are on foreign stations; 
and even of those in the home squadron the number of officers that get a thorough local 
knowledge of our ports and inshore waters is limited. 

Service in the revenue cutters is calculated more than any other to give this local 
knowledge. It can not be gained in so useful a way even by duty in the Coast Survey, 
which gives a minute knowledge of certain limited areas. 

The constant practice of the revenue cutters in going in and out of port is calculated 
to familiarize young officers thoroughly with a very valuable kind of knowledge. 

While the plan proposed would introduce an increased naval spirit into the Revenue- 
Marine Service, and apply to it methods of administration adapted to its needs, thus 
working for its good, it would also benefit the Navy at large in another way than those 
already mentioned by affording to our younger naval officers increased practice in the 
management of steamers, especially small steamers, in places where skillful handling 
is required from the presence of great numbers of vessels, strong currents, the necessity 
of going alongside vessels and wharves, etc. 

The service of naval officers on board these small steamers in waters crowded with 
shipping would afford an excellent school of maneuver, requiring the exercise of good 
judgment and quick decision in avoiding danger and insuring success, under circum- 
stances similar to those which would be encountered in avoiding rams and torpedoes 



REPORTS OF THE. COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 32^ ' 

in naval battles, but certainly less difficult. In illustration of the amount of valuable 
experience to be gained through such service, attention is called to the amount of 
work and the nature of the special services done by vessels of the Revenue Marine, as 
elsewhere set forth. 

Another very important consideration is that of the duplication of work by the 
Government. 

Naval officers and Revenue-Marine officers need the same training; and the Govern- 
ment thus keeps up two sets of officers to do pretty much the work of one. 

"We have a great national academy at Annapolis, training scores of young men in 
naval duties upon a system that is the result of the most thorough study and many 
years of experience, at an establishment costing many thousands of dollars per annum, 
and giving the best academic and practical training for a seafaring life to be found 
in the world. It will be remembered that its plan of organization and administration, 
resulting in excellent discipline and careful training, so impressed the commissioners 
of the recent Paris Exposition as to call from them expressions of high praise and 
admiration. By recent legislation, the majority of the graduates of this institution 
can not be utilized in the public service. If there were places for them to fill, they 
might be retained in the service of the country, holding their lives and trained abilities 
on call at an hour's notice. 

At the same time, under existing law, there is maintained another school at New 
Bedford, Mass., an imitation of the large, well-organized, and well-equipped academy 
at Annapolis. This school, in which the course is limited to two years, is doing 
work in exactly the same direction with imperfect appliances. It gives a training 
which is very good as far as it goes, the course of study being modeled on that of the 
Naval Academy, but it must necessarily be superficial as compared with that given 
at Annapolis. 

Instead of a corps of instructors in every branch of study, the Revenue-Marine 
School has four or five instructors, to whom is confided the whole work of the school. 
The nonprofessional studies are conducted by one instructor. There are no com- 
modious quarters and large classrooms and laboratories containing models, instru- 
ments, and all necessary facilities for demonstration, as at Annapolis. The four 
howitzers which constitute the battery of the Chase can not be compared with the 
full battery of broadside guns on board the gunnery ship at Annapolis. The ele- 
mentary course in steam engineering, pursued on board a sailing vessel, can scarcely 
be spoken of in connection with a liberal and extended course which includes, besides 
the use of textbooks, the actual working and management of the machinery of a 
steam vessel under way, as well as of a marine steam engine and boilers set up in a 
large building on shore, where the various parts can be seen and examined, both at 
rest and in practical operation; a course which also includes frequent lectures, prac- 
tical instruction in mechanical drawing, and the constant use of models. 

There is absolutely no reason why the officers of the Revenue Marine should not 
be supplied from the graduates of the Naval Academy. The only special feature of 
the course on board the Chase, as published in the report of the service, which the 
Naval Academy does not possess in a fuller and better developed form is a 14 weeks' 
course in commercial maritime law, easily added to the course at Annapolis or capable 
of ready acquirement by any graduate of the Naval Academy. 

Simply to state the case shows the defects of the present system and its lack of 
adaptation to the public needs. The Government maintains two institutions to 
accomplish practically the same ends. One of these is vastly better than the other. 
Yet the greater part of the material supplied by the Naval Academy can not be 
utilized, while all that coming from an inferior institution is employed. 

It is not intended in what has been said to belittle the training given the Revenue- 
Marine cadets. It is no doubt excellent as far as it goes, those in charge working 
zealously and making the most of the facilities given them. But the warmest friends 
of the present system of training officers for the Revenue-Marine Service must in 
justice admit that the Naval Academy is far better equipped for doing the same work. 

Another very strong reason for incorporating the Revenue-Marine Service as an arm 
of the Navy, having certain special duties and supplying it with officers from the 
Naval Academy, is that certain sections of the country are more highly favored than 
others under the present system in respect to supplying'officers for the Revenue-Marine 
Service. This is unavoidable at present. The greater part of those taking part in 
the competitive examinations for appointment as cadets will necessarily be drawn 
from the States adjacent to the place of examination. Thus the Atlantic seaboard 
bids fair to nearly monopolize representation in this branch of the public service. 

It is one of the fundamental principles of our Government, formulated in the Con- 
stitution and jealously guarded by our statesmen, that the laws shall not discriminate 
in favor of any State to the detriment of others. There must be no favored sections, 
treated as such, through anything inherent in the law. If more consideration be given 



3?2 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

to tthe claims of one locality than to those of another, it should be only because such a 
course is demanded by the well-being of the country at large. But there should be 
no discrimination made in the relations of the citizens of the several States to the 
General Government. 

In accordance with the foregoing, every section should have its fair and just repre- 
sentation in the civil service, in proportion to its population, and an equal chance 
with others for representation in the naval service. Even the most strenuous advo- 
cates of competitive examinations in determining relative fitness for employment by 
the Government must concede that the people of all parts of the country should be on 
an equal footing in the carrying out of any such plan. Such examination should not 
operate to exclude entirely the people of distant States from any branch of the public 
service. 

Under the present system of obtaining cadets in the Revenue Marine it is scarcely 
to be supposed that young men living in California, or in Texas, or in other distant 
States will be ready or able to bear the expense of traveling to Washington only to 
take their chances in a competitive examination. 

Thus, on the one hand, this branch of the public service is only open, practically, 
to young men living in those States from which Washington is readily accessible, while, 
on the other hand, every congressional district in the country is given a fair and equal 
chance for representation at the Naval Academy; and all those districts which guard 
their own interests by sending properly prepared candidates are placed on an equal 
footing as regards distance, every naval cadet being credited, one month after admis- 
sion, with the actual expenses incurred in traveling from his home to the academy. 

Provision should be made for the retirement of officers of the Revenue Marine "from 
active service when they become incapacitated for such service through age or any 
cause incident to the duties of their profession. The naval pension laws should also 
apply to the officers and men of this service and to those dependent on them. Prob- 
ably this would have been done long ago if the service were not nominally a part of 
the civil service. The only way to meet the requirements of justice without violating 
any legislative traditions is to recognize the service by law as a part of the Naval 
Establishment, or, in the words of the report of the Committee on Commerce of the 
House of Representatives, already quoted, to "advance the service to its proper place 
as an arm of the Navy." 

This service is a part of the armed force of the country. Its officers devote their 
lives to carrying out certain requirements of the public welfare. Its officers and men 
may be called upon at any time to imperil their lives even in the performance of their 
routine duties. The ordinary cruising grounds of the revenue cutters are near the 
coast, exposed to the dangers of treacherous currents, fogs, storms, and other perils of 
the sea. A number of these vessels are detailed annually to cruise upon the coast 
during the most inclement season of the year, "to afford such aid to distressed navi- 
gators as the circumstances and their necessities may require." The performance of 
this duty involves much hardship and exposure. The results achieved show material 
assistance to commerce and the saving of hundreds of lives. 

Under the law as it now stands should a naval vessel capture a piratical vessel after 
an armed struggle those injured and the families of those killed on board the naval 
vessel would receive the benefit of the naval retirement and pension laws. Should a 
revenue cutter not cooperating with the Navy by order of the President, perform the 
same service, no such reward could be given. Even when revenue cutters do coop- 
erate with the Navy there is no provision of law for the payment of any pensions to the 
families of those who may be killed while serving on board the revenue cutters. 

With regard to the necessity of providing for the retirement of officers of the Revenue- 
Marine Service, the report * from the Committee on Commerce of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, already referred to, says: 

"More than 25 per cent of the captains now borne upon the register of officers of the 
revenue marine are, through disability resulting from age and long-continued service 
or other causes connected with the duties of their profession, unfitted for the perform- 
ance of active duty. Several officers of the subordinate grades are likewise incapaci- 
tated. Some of the disabled are now suffering from the effects of wounds and injuries 
received in action with the enemy during the war. The vessels on which they were 
serving not having been 'cooperating with the Navy, under orders of the President,' 
although actively employed against the public enemy, they are debarred from any 
benefits under the law governing the naval service." 

And this report says further that — 

'.'The carrying upon the roll with the active officers of so large a number of per- 
manently disabled bars the way to promotion of the young and physically efficient 

i Report No. 926, H. R., 47th Cong., 1st sess. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. cS27 

who perform the real work of the service, thereby removing a valuable aid to discipline 
and an incentive to improvement." 

The same report calls attention to the fact that while no measure for retiring these 
officers had ever before been presented for the consideration of Congress, the subject 
had been brought to its attention by successive Secretaries of the Treasury in the 
annual reports of 1872, 1873, 1876, and 1881, and in the special letter of the department 
in February, 1881. 

In the report of 1872 the Secretary says : 

"I think it is a plain duty for the Government to provide a retired list, so that the 
active service may be supplied constantly with able and efficient men." 

The report of 1873 recommends this measure as well as one providing for pensions: 
"In justice to meritorious officers and seamen, whose lives are spent in the per- 
formance of hazardous duty." 

In the report of 1876 the Secretary recommends a retiring bill "on the grounds of 
humanity and public advantage," and states that from the want of provisions of this 
character "considerable embarrassment" and "public detriment and injury" are 
experienced. 

In February, 1881, the Secretary says, in a letter recommending a measure of the 
character named: "The operations of the Revenue-Cutter Service are seriously em- 
barrassed and its efficiency impaired through the want of some provision of the char- 
acter proposed," and that the necessity for the relief increases with time. 

In the report of 1881 the Secretary says that— 

"A system for the retirement of officers who have in the line of duty become perma- 
nently disabled is desirable." 

In the report of the Committee on Commerce there is also incorporated a letter from 
the present Secretary of the Treasury, in which he advocates the retirement of 
officers of the Revenue Marine under proper conditions and expresses the opinion that 
the enhanced expense would be warranted by the resulting advantages. 

All the considerations which have led to the establishment of a retired list and of 
pensions for the Army and for the Navy apply with equal force to the Revenue-Marine 
Service. Put the service by law in its proper place as a part of the Naval Establish- 
ment and the whole matter becomes perfectly simple. 

It may be urged that naval officers not having a special training for the work of this 
sendee could not perform it efficiently, and it becomes a matter of some importance 
to examine the question. .The following 'considerations will show that any such 
objection has no real foundation: 

1. It is not proposed to overturn the whole organization of the Revenue-Marine 
Service. Under the above suggestions the present officers of that service would be 
retained, being incorporated as a special corps of the Navy. Ample provision can 
be made for their promotion as vacancies occur, and the revenue cutters will for many 
years to come be commanded by officers now in that service. 

2. The want of additional officers on board the revenue cutters will be felt first 
through the depletion of the junior grades of the Revenue-Marine Corps by promotion. 
This deficiency can be supplied by detailing graduates of the Naval Academy to duty 
on board the revenue cutters, such graduates to be, of course, junior to the Revenue- 
Marine Corps officers on board. Thus these young officers would gain a knowledge 
of the duties of revenue cutters by practical experience, just as third lieutenants on 
board the revenue cutters have received their practical training for many years. 
Only two classes of vessels come to New Bedford, as a rule, viz, whalers and coasters; 
very rarely do the Revenue-Marine cadets there have an opportunity to board vessels 
which are engaged in foreign trade. Such experience as the cadets get can not go 
very far in making them efficient boarding officers. A graduate of the six years' 
course at the Naval Academy would no more need such practice in order to perform 
the duties of a boarding officer in the Revenue Service than he would need it to act 
as boarding officer in time of war in exercising the right of visit and search. 

3. It will be well to remember that the whole education and training of our naval 
officers tends to enable them to adapt themselves to circumstances. A naval officer 
is liable to be ordered at any time to duty entirely different from that to which he has 
been accustomed, and must of necessity be able to bring his trained abilities to bear 
on the questions of the hour. 

4. Naval officers have done duty on board the revenue cutters in the past, as has 
been stated elsewhere. But this was not in accordance with any well-devised plan. 
It would appear to have threatened injury to the regular Revenue-Cutter officers by 
retarding their advancement, and the practice was discontinued in 1832. Appar- 
ently, the naval officers found no difficulty in performing revenue duties, for some of 
them resigned their naval commissions and remained regularly in the Revenue-Cutter 
Service. 



go*4 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

To summarize briefly, the arguments which have been presented show that the 
Revenue Marine is out of place in the Treasury Department, and that its transfer 
to the Navy Department would be attended with many advantages to the service itself 
and to the Navy, thus increasing the usefulness of the service. 

5. THE COAST GUARD OP GREAT BRITAIN. 

The coast guard of Great Britain was instituted for the protection of the revenue . 
Owing to the free-trade policy of that nation, which exempts almost all articles from 
duty, the coast guard is mainly important now as a naval reserve and life-saving serv- 
ice, but it still has civil duties in connection with the protection of the revenue, which 
duties it is the purpose of this paper to consider. 

The coast guard is entirely under naval control, forming the first naval reserve 
of the Kingdom, and is at all times liable to be embarked for active naval service, 
while the naval reserve proper can only be called out by royal proclamation. 

_ In the organization of the coast guard naval duties are so intimately associated with 
civil duties that to understand the latter it is first necessary to consider briefly the 
general plan of organization of the service. 

The whole service is under the general supervision of an admiral superintendent. 

The coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland are divided into districts, five on the 
coast of England, two on that of Scotland, and two on that of Ireland, nine districts 
in all. The districts are commanded by district captains, who are captains in the 
royal navy. 

Every district comprises a number of divisions, each under a divisional officer; 
these officers are generally appointed from the commanders and senior lieutenants 
of the regular navy; a few are " chief officers late of cruisers," who are not regular 
naval officers. The subordinate officers and men serving on shore, as well as coast 
guard cruisers attached to their divisions, are under their orders. 

Each division contains several stations, a station being the portion of coast confined 
to a station officer or chief boatsman in charge. The number of men at a station varies 
usually from 6 to 10; at a few stations there are more. 

All stations are divided into guards for patrolling duties. A guard is a portion of 
the coast. 

At the headquarters of every district under the command of a district captain, is 
a district ship, attached to which are gunboats and other vessels, technically known as 
coast-guard tenders and cruisers. 

The nine district ships form the squadron of the first reserve. In the event of an 
emergency, their crews may, at any time, be supplemented by officers and men from 
the coast guard, to enable these vessels to assemble with the fleet ready for active 
service. 

The admiral superintendent inspects the district ships twice every year, and the 
drill ships of the royal naval reserve annually, the latter being also under his super- 
vision. 

The drill ships of the royal naval reserve and the gunboats and cruisers of the coast 
guard are inspected by the district captains when they make their annual inspec- 
tion of the districts under their command. 

The gunboats are employed generally for the duties of the district, and their crews 
are governed by the same regulations as those of the district ships. 

The vessels, which are technically known as cruisers, are employed in removing 
men, conveying stores to stations, and watching the coast for the protection of the 
revenue and of the fisheries. Their duties are similar to those of our revenue cutters. 
When absent from the district ships, they are under the orders of the divisional officer 
in whose division they may be stationed. 

The officers and men of the cruisers are subject to the disciplinary laws and regula- 
tions governing the navy. They are occasionally drilled on board the district ships 
when in company, but have regular drills at all times; they muster under arms and 
in uniform every morning. 

The commanding and other officers of coast-guard cruisers are not officers of the 
regular navy. Their names appear in the British "navy list" in the section which 
gives the personnel of the coast guard, and they are entirely under naval control. 
They have assimilated rank with officers in the regular navy, "chief officers" (com- 
manding officers) of cruisers ranking with and after navigating lieutenants, senior 
mates of cruisers with and after navigating sublieutenants, and second mates of 
cruisers with and after navigating midshipmen. 

The officers and men of the coast guard are enjoined to endeavor to obtain informa- 
tion of every description respecting smugglers, and to take every opportunity of 
communicating with each other for that purpose. Any information is communicated 
to the divisional officer. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. <j}27 

Those serving on shore are required frequently to visit creeks and by-places within 
the limits of their station, where it is probable small craft may be concealed for the 
purpose of smuggling. 

The officers of the coast guard are specially enjoined to pay due attention to any 
information or suggestions received from the officers of the customs of the port within 
the limits of which they are stationed for the better protection of the revenue, and to 
maintain a cordial and active cooperation with the different branches of the revenue 
service. 

When collectors of customs have to communicate with or obtain information from 
any person employed in the coast-guard service, they do so through the divisional 
officer except where delay would be prejudicial; they also afford advice and assist- 
ance to the officers and men of the coast guard whenever called upon, and promptly 
procure them legal assistance in all cases of difficulty. 

When, in the execution of the revenue laws, it is necessary for a cruiser to seize a 
vessel, or to accompany into port a vessel suspected of having on board goods liable 
to seizure, the vessel is delivered into the charge of the collector of customs, with all 
the requisite particulars relating thereto, and the cruiser returns to her station. All 
the circumstances of the case are reported to the divisional officer. 

Before firing to bring to any vessel or boat liable to seizure or examination, it is 
required that the proper ensign and pendant be displayed, whether by day or night, 
on board either cruisers or boats, and that a gun or rifle be fired as a signal. If any 
person be killed or wounded by any shot fired before these requisites have been 
performed, the person or persons by whom and by whose order such shot is fired must 
abide the due course of law. 

Coast-guard cruisers are not permitted to enter the waters of a foreign power, nor 
commit a violation of territory, nor to board or examine foreign vessels, nor exercise 
any belligerent rights of search beyond the limits of British jurisdiction; but should 
any suspicious vessel under foreign colors be fallen in with, the cruisers are to keep 
company with them, to see that, if they have contraband goods on board, they do 
not land them on any part of the British coast nor tranship them into British vessels. 
Officers of the coast guard are particularly cautioned to be very careful how they 
carry out, with respect to foreign vessels, certain special provisions relative to seizures 
and forfeitures consequent on violation of the revenue laws by foreign vessels having 
on board one or more British subjects. 

A system of rewards for seizures is in force, and specific regulations control the 
apportionment and distribution of the rewards. 

The duties of the coast guard in connection with the suppression of illicit distilla- 
tion apply solely to the coast and outlying islands of Ireland, and have no general 
interest. 

It is the duty of the officers and men of the coast guard, and particularly of the 
officers of cruisers, to lend their assistance in duly enforcing the quarantine laws. 

This proposal on the part of the Secretary of the Navy that the 
Revenue-Cutter Service and other maritime services be transferred 
to the Navy Department led to a very spirited rejoinder on the part 
of the Treasury Department. The heads of the services affected 
were called upon to express themselves regarding the proposition 
and their replies were published by the Treasury Department as one 
of its documents. 1 

Following is the reply made by the Chief of the Revenue-Marine 
Division : 

Report of Chief of Revenue-Marine Division. 

Treasury Department, January 27, 1883. 

Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report upon the proposition to transfer 
the administration of the Revenue-Marine Service to the Navy Department, and the 
provisions of the bill, H. R. No. 7157, which you have placed in my hands: 

The. Secretary of the Navy, in his annual report submitted at the beginning of the 
present Congress, recommends that the Revenue-Marine Service, together with other 
bureaus under the Treasury Department, be transferred to the Navy Department, 



1 Reports in regard to the transfer of the bureaus and divisions of the merchant marine in the Treasury 
Department to the In ayy Department. Treasury Department Document No. 395. Washington, Govern- 
ment Printing Office, 1883. Reprinted in S. Ex. Doc. No 116 51st Con* 1st sess 



3? 

He gives as principal reasons for the transfer — 

1 . That it. would afford a useful field for the employment of a portion of the large 
number of young naval officers who are now borne upon the rolls of the Navy, but for 
whoso employment no occupation is offered in the legitimate duties of their corps. 

2. That the service of young naval officers upon the revenue cutters would be of 
direct benefit in their profession and to the country in case of war, giving them a 
familiarity with the coast and a knowledge of local pilotage that would not otherwise 
be obtained. 

3. That the change would be in the interests of economy, in view of the fact that the 
Government is keeping up a " Revenue Navy," consisting of the present Revenue 
Marine . 

Some subsidiary reasons for the proposed transfer are also given in the report of the 
honorable Secretary, as — 

(1) That the service of the cruising cutters is strictly naval and the duties not dis- 
tinguishable in kind from those of naval officers; that the discipline is naval "as far 
as naval discipline can be carried on outside of the Navy Department." 

(2) That the cruising cutters are armed with great guns and small arms, and that in 
time of war these vessels "have always been pressed into the naval service." 

(3) That 23 of the cutters "which may be classed as gunboats are good vessels 
for their class, and must always be regarded as part of the available naval force." 

(4) Further, that "Revenue Marine officers would be benefited by the change, as 
they would receive, in addition to such advantages as they enjoy under their present 
status, the benefits of a permanent naval commission." 

The reasons named are not without weight, and if sustained by the facts, and suffi- 
cient considerations do not exist why the fundamental practice of the Government 
and legal status of nearly a hundred years should remain undisturbed, would deserve 
the serious consideration of Congress. 

ORGANIZATION AND PURPOSE OF THE REVENUE MARINE. 

The Revenue-Cutter Service was established by act of Congress of 1790. (Vol. I, 
U. S. Stat., p. 175.) Its conception and general plan were the work of Alexander 
Hamilton, who, in organizing the system of finance and revenue for the country, 
deemed the revenue cutters an essential part of the scheme. 

The plan of the service as originally devised has never been materially changed, 
but the service has been augmented from time to time with the growth of the country 
in territory and population, and its duties have been increased in scope and number 
with the natural development of the commercial and maritime interests, whose pro- 
tection was the object of its origin. 

It has been made by law a part of the available naval force of the Government in 
time of war (act of Mar. 2, 1799), and several acts have been passed to add to its effi- 
ciency. The discipline and management of the service have also been much improved 
in recent years. 

Under the existing organization the collectors of customs, who are charged with the 
immediate work of collecting the revenue, have general charge of the cutters and can 
direct them in the performance of any "duty involving the protection of the revenue. 

This service embraces not only the protection of the revenue derived from imposts 
on imported goods, but that derivable from all other sources upon the waters. It has 
also been extended to include the protection of our national timber reserves against 
depredations and our mercantile shipping against the perils of the sea. 

While the collectors of customs have supervision of the individual cutters, as 
described, the Secretary of the Treasury is charged with the immediate control and 
management of the service as well as the stationing of the vessels and officers. The 
present arrangement exists without confusion or discord and with great public advan- 
tage, the cutters fulfilling with entire satisfaction the objects of their creation. No 
complaints of their lack of usefulness or adaptability to their duties are received ; no 
allegations of incompetency or general unfitness. On the contrary, the testimony to 
their efficiency and value is almost universal, both from customs officers and the 
owners and masters of vessels engaged in conducting the floating commerce of the 
country. At one period only of the history of the service have unharmonious relations 
arisen between the customs officers and those in charge of revenue vessels. This was 
during the period when officers of the Navy were detailed to command revenue cutters, 
beginning about the year 1821 and ending in 1832, and it was on account of the com- 
plications springing out of this relation that the practice was abandoned in the year 
last named. 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 327 



CONDITION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REVENUE MARINE. 



The effectiveness of the revenue vessels in the prevention of smuggling is not always 
apparent, their strict guard upon the coast line having long since broken up smuggling 
by cargo; but whenever an exigency has required the withdrawal of the vessels for 
any considerable time from a stretch of coast line the smugglers have resumed opera- 
tions. This was well illustrated during the enforced absence for several months of the 
revenue vessel from the coast of Florida a few years since when two schooners of respect- 
able size began the business of smuggling rum and cigars from Cuba, their occupation 
prospering until the return of the cutter. 

At the present time frequent applications for an extension of the service as now con- 
ducted are received by this department and none for its curtailment or discontinuance. 

The amount of work performed by the revenue vessels under these numerous calls 
for their services is shown by the following table, exhibiting statistically the record 
of the 10 years from 1871 to 1881: 



Year ended- 



June 30, 1872. 
June 30, 1873. 
June 30, 1874. 
June 30, 1875. 
June 30, 1876. 
June 30, 1877. 
June 30, 1878. 
June 30, 1879. 
June 30, 1880. 
June 30, 1881. 



Miles sailed. 



166, 198 
185, 668 
169, 882 
198, 117 
194, 261 
196, 036 
238, 505 
252, 112 
265, 763 
282, 027 



Total ; 2,148,569 

Average per year I 214, 857 



Vessels 
boarded 
and exam- 
ined. 



24, 932 

30, 543 
27, 748 

22, 225 

23, 686 

25, 396 

31, 096 

32, 853 
36, 318 
29, 101 



Vessels 

seized or 

reported for 

violation of 

law. 



1,594 
1,605 



283, 898 



28, 390 



810 
245 
225 
260 
009 
444 
556 
163 



20, 911 



2,091 



Vessels 

assisted in 

distress. 



219 
210 
153 
195 
195 
204 
192 
210 
114 
148 



Lives 
saved. 



1,840 



184 



37 

109 
4 
81 
45 
60 
76 

123 
65 

141 



741 
74 



That this work is satisfactory to the collectors of customs and other customs officers 
immediately associated with the service, and that it is beneficial and gratifying to the 
general public, numerous testimonials and letters of commendation on file in the 
department abundantly attest. 

That the service is now efficient, and that it is improving from year to year, is 
shown by contrasting with the foregoing table the following statement of the work 
performed during the period of 10 years beginning with 1861 and ending with 1870, 
compiled by calendar years: 



A ears. 


Miles sailed. 


Vessels 
boarded 
and exam- 
ined. 


Vessels 

seized or 

reported for 

violation of 

Law. 


Vessels 

assisted in 

distress. 


Lives 
saved. 


1861 


159,574 12,991 


Ill 

143 

118 

103 

90 

133 

154 

83 

79 

149 


129 
134 
117 
61 
116 
143 
126 
108 
109 
175 


20 


1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

Total 

Average per year 


147,455 ! 9,728 
174,111 ; 9,386 
99,326 38,815 
126,552 ! 17,375 
192,597 ! 8,607 
192,313 j 10,850 
155,910 j 7,923 
156,910 i 7,927 
105, 903 9, 386 


23 

19 

3 

7 

33 
14 
25 
25 
18 


1, 510, 651 132, 988 


1,163 


1,218 


187 


151, 065 13, 299 


116 122 


18 







328 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

These comparisons show that the service is now doing its maximum of work. 

The following table, giving the expenditures on account of the Revenue-Marine 
Service for a series of years ended with June 30, 1882, shows that the increased amount 
of work has been effected without an increase in the cost of the service: 

For the fiscal vear ended — 

June 30, 1868. $1, 293, 061. 67 j June 30, 1876 $842, 912. 68 

June 30, 1869 1,185,702.26 June 30, 1877 841,176.31 

June 30, 1870 1,133,670.15 June 30, 1878 844,001.70 

June 30, 1871 1,121,028.43 June 30, 1879 844,527.25 

June 30, 1872 930,249.81 June 30, 1880 845,333.74 

June 30, 1873 995,308.88 June 30, 1881 846,791.99 

June 30, 1874 903,601.83 June 30, 1882 846,423.34 

June 30, 1875 897, 899. 56 

Indeed, the period of the greatest usefulness and efficiency in its civil work, if the 
amount of service rendered affords an index, is marked by the lowest annual expend- 
itures, as will be seen by comparing the work and expenditures of the past six years 
with like data for any similar period. 

To the foregoing data is to be added a statement of the relief work of the revenue 
vessels, which is a most practical evidence of their usefulness. During the last six 
years alone 678 vessels and their cargoes, imperiled by the sea, have been assisted 
by the cutters, aggregating in value $16,181,542.80, and averaging $2,696,923.80 per 
annum. But this is not all, for in the same period 642 persons have been rescued from 
drowning. This does not include the persons on the vessels assisted. 

The greater number of the Revenue-Marine vessels have been constructed upon 
specifications prepared under the particular direction of the present management, and 
under the immediate supervision of the officers of the corps. They have been devised 
with special reference to the wants of the several stations and the character of the 
waters to be covered in their cruising. A few exceptions only to the rule exist, con- 
sisting of steamers acquired during or soon after the war, which have been retained 
in the service as too costly to discard. But, with these exceptions, the cutters are 
admirably adapted to the needs of the service, and many of them are considered 
models of their size and type. 

The officers are proportioned in numbers to the requirements of the service, and 
could the places of the superannuated be filled with active men the corps would be 
unexceptionable as to its personnel. The character and habits of the officers are 
good. Prompt and willing attention to duty and zealous pride in their work are 
the rule. 

SPECIAL TRAINING REQUISITE FOR REVENUE-MARINE OFFICERS. 

A knowledge of customs laws, of the navigation laws, and numerous other statutory 
provisions bearing upon the duties confided to the service, as well as a familiarity 
with the regulations and decisions affecting the varied maritime interests of the 
country, are essential to the skilled revenue officer. Such knowledge is not the acqui- 
sition of two or three years, but requires a long period of application and experience. 
The officers of the revenue cutters give their whole lives, not only to the business of 
perfecting their professional knowledge, but in familiarizing themselves with the 
multifarious and delicate questions found in the laws whose enforcement is committed 
to the Revenue Marine. 

A glance at the numerous duties of revenue vessels indicates the wide scope of infor- 
mation necessary to Revenue-Marine officers. Their primary work is that of protecting 
the revenue against smuggling; but besides this they enforce the law requiring license, 
enrollment, and registry of vessels; the law requiring life-saving appliances, as boats 
and life preservers, to be kept on board merchant vessels; the laws prohibiting over- 
loading with passengers; those requiring lights to be exhibited by merchant vessels; 
that providing for name and hailing port to be affixed; that assessing a tax for the 
support of marine hospitals; those in aid of the quarantine systems of the States; those 
for suppressing piracy on the seas; those for preserving the timber reserves of the 
United States; they enforce the neutrality laws; they prevent unlawful traffic in rum 
and firearms in Alaska; they protect the seal fisheries; they suppress mutinies on 
board merchant vessels; they extinguish fire upon merchant shipping in our harbors; 
they carry out the humane enactments of Congress in aid of distressed mariners during 
the inclement season. They form, under the law of 1878, an important part of the 
Life-Saving Service. To the duties devolved upon them by law or regulation are 
added numerous others, to which they are detailed from time to time, an instance of 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 329 

which is the part borne by the service in the work of arresting the spread of yellow 
fever in the Southwest the past summer. 

The officers of the Revenue Marine now constitute one of the best fitted, most thor- 
oughly trained, most industrious, intelligent, active, and efficient bodies of public 
servants under the Government. 

The cruising of the revenue cutters when engaged in the protection of the revenue 
brings them principally into the waters along the coast near the shore, thus subjecting 
them always to dangers of navigation far greater than are encountered in mid-ocean. 
But they are, furthermore, called upon, as noted above (under the act of Dec. 22, 
1837), during the inclement and dangerous season to endure the hardships and perils 
of cruising in aid of vessels in distress. By such practice and experience they become 
in years as proficient and skilled in coastwise cruising as is possible of acquirement, 
but this perfection of training stands for a lifetime of study and toil. 

^RADICAL IMPROPRIETY OF THE TRANSFER. 

It thus appears that the Revenue-Marine Service is now, and has been for almost a 
century, an important and essential part of the customs service; that, as at present 
organized and conducted, it is harmonious in its relations to the customs service and 
other interests committed to its care ; that it is efficient in the performance of its work 
and has attained the maximum of usefulness; that it is economical in the cost of 
maintenance; that its vessels are well adapted to the needs of the service, and in good 
condition and properly equipped; that its officers are properly qualified for their 
duties and perform them satisfactorily. 

Congress ought not, under these conditions, to change the status of this service 
without grave and important reasons. Nevertheless, it is proposed to break up the 
present system and make a startling and radical change in the service by transfer- 
ring it as a whole to another department of the Government. 

From the facts stated it could scarcely be hoped that the change would better the 
Revenue Marine or add to its efficiency in any respect. We can look, then, only to 
the reasons given by the Secretary of the Navy. It is for the benefit of the Navy 
that the change is sought; and it is not so much for the benefit of the Navy as a whole 
as for the younger officers of the naval corps that the subject is now pressed upon 
Congress. 

I do not believe that the measure will meet with public approval. Our people, 
in that impatience of aristocratic rule which is their characteristic, have always 
shown a strong dislike to giving the military predominance in time of peace. Even 
during the period of domestic war the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was 
one of the last acts prior to the striking down by force of arms of the civil tribunals, 
while one of the first steps in rehabilitating a Commonwealth was the reestablishment 
of the civil courts in order that the Government might be exercised through the legiti- 
mate civil channels. That Americans detest the bayonet except as a means of national 
defense needs no assertion. In organizing a force to protect the revenue special care 
was taken by the founders of the Government to avoid offense to this sentiment. 
The Revenue-Marine officers were made officers of the customs, and while subjected, 
necessarily, to military discipline and training aboard ship discharged all their func- 
tions in entire subordination to the civil branch. They have been regarded as a 
national constabulary rather than as a naval force. At the same time Congress, as if 
to show more conclusively its intention that the cutter system should always remain 
attached to the civil establishment, by the act of 1799, provided for the only exigency 
in which it need be availed of as a part of the naval force, giving the President 
authority to cause its vessels to cooperate with the Navy when their services should 
be necessary. That was the time, if ever, to attach it to the Navy. Failure to do 
so at that time argues the purpose of Congress to retain it forever as a part of the civil 
force. 

History shows that no change in existing law is necessary to enable the Revenue 
Marine to be used for the national defense if demanded. Its vessels have partici- 
pated in every war with signal public advantage. Its officers have always acquitted 
themselves well in such service. They have not failed in their duty. Nothing in 
their performances has indicated that a transfer to the Navy would make the service 
more effective in such emergency. 

The people have always jealously guarded the civil functions from the encroach- 
ments of the military power and have shown a desire to restrict the Army and Navy 
in times of peace to the most limited numbers compatible with the manning of the 
forts, the defense of the frontier, and the protection of our flag in foreign waters. Any 
attempt to induct the Army and Navy into the civil offices has been met and promptly 
restrained by adverse public sentiment. 



330 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The present system has been maintained for nearly a hundred years, whether in 
peace or war, in prosperity or calamity to the country, and has stood the test well; 
but it is now proposed by the pending- bill to throw away the experience of years and 
enter upon the field of experiment. Hereafter the Secretary of the Treasury when 
desiring to hunt down the smuggler or check any infraction of laws whose execution 
falls under the Treasury Department must call upon the naval force of the United 
Stales. True, the bill provides that the vessels of the Revenue Marine Corps of the 
Navy shall, upon requisition of the Secretary of the Treasury, be assigned for the 
]>rotection of the revenue, but certainly his authority over the corps would be second- 
ary to that of the Secretary of the Navy. He would have no control over the disci- 
pline of the corps; he could not change the stations or control the movements generally 
of the vessels; he could not even select officers for special service or particular duties 
without an appeal to the Navy Department. We should thus have the anomaly of 
the department charged with the collecting of the revenue having no real control 
over the force for protecting it, and the department charged with protecting the rev- 
enue having no hand in collecting it. 

THE REAL MOTIVE OP THE PROJECT. 

What is the excuse held out for introducing this confusion into the now harmonious 
and efficient civi 1 system? What is the motive for inducting the military into the 
civil offices? What incentive is offered for overturning the practice of a century 
and reversing the judgment of the founders of our national polity? What is the argu- 
ment presented to Congress for legalizing this startling innovation upon the tradi- 
tional policy of the Government? The reply is found in the assertion of the honorable 
the Secretary of the Navy that employment must be had for the surplus Navy officers; 
either this must be done or a large reduction will be made, Congress having at its 
last session inserted the knife into the bud in the matter of reduction, to be followed 
soon by laying the ax at the root of the tree. 

Is it true that we are asked to build up an aristocracy of naval officers in our country? 
These young men having been educated by the Nation, at a cost of many hundreds 
of dollars for each, while the ordinary sons of the people were gaining their education 
with personal toil and -sweat, are the people to be now laid under still further tribute 
for the benefit of the favored naval officers, and even the civil force displaced in order 
to afford them continuous tenure? 

In the civil branches of the Government when the duties of an officer cease, when 
the occupation is gone, it follows that the office itself is abolished and the incumbent 
relegated to private life. No one thinks of asking the continuance of a land office 
after the public lands within its scope are disposed of. Also, when the business of 
a revenue district ceases the collector and his employees are discharged. Yet here 
is a class already favored by a liberal education and generous maintenance at the 
hands of the country, when the legitimate business in the line of their training no 
longer offers, asking the adoption of a new theory of government by which may be 
turned over to them to furnish excuse for their retention in office the work now being 
well done by "a body of the civil officers. 

With the fact in view that in the theory of our Government the place of the mili- 
tary is in strict subordinacy to the civil power, is the recommendation of the head 
of the Navy Department defensible? Is it not to be condemned as in conflict with 
the principles of republican government? 

We are told that the Revenue Marine is not naturally connected with the Treasury 
Department; that it does belong naturally to the Navy Department, and are left to 
infer by the honorable the Secretary of the Navy that its transfer would improve its 
administration and promote its efficiency. It is true that no defect of management' 
is pointed out and no particular in which it would be improved by such change. 

DOES THE CONDITION OP THE NAVY WARRANT THE CHANGE? 

The bald recommendation for the transfer comes, too, upon the heels of a dolorous 
statement of the present deplorable condition of the Navy. Out of 50 vessels of war, 
one only of which is of the first rate, but 31 are in commission, and all are condemned 
as unfit to cope with the warships of other countries. Not one modern high-power 
cannon is included in their armament, for the excellent reason that there is not one 
such in the whole Navy. Of the eight navy yards, with their immense and costly 
plant of docks, workshops, dwellings, machinery, and tools, five at least are reported 
as unnecessary. The Secretary gives a sample day of their cost (Nov. 11), for which the 
total pay roll at all the yards was $11,319. The enormous disproportion of 59 officers 
to every vessel in commission is adverted to in the report, coupled with the suggestion 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 331 

of a further reduction in this superfluous list beyond that provided for by Congress 
last summer. 

Following these lamentable disclosures the Secretary touches softly upon the system 
of favoritism that has prevailed regarding assignments of officers, sadly remarking that 
if allowed to continue the naval service will soon become fatally demoralized. 

The Secretary might have gone further and shown that while other nations, on an 
expenditure proportionately far below that of our country, have kept abreast with all 
modern improvements in ships and guns, we have steadily deteriorated in both, until 
practically the zero mark has been reached. 

Comparative statement of the navies of six great nations. 



Nation. 



Austria 

Germany 

Italy 

United States 

France 

Great Britain 





Vessels of war. 










Number 






Number 

of 

modern 

war 


Number 

of 
officers. 1 


Number 

of 
seamen, 


Number 
of men 


Number 




of ships. 


of iron- 


Thick- 


boys, 


to each 




clads or 


ness of 


and 


officer. 




armored 


armor. 






marines. 






ships. 
















Inches. 










58 


13 


4J-14 


7 


664 


7,469 


11+ 


?79 


3 20 


5 -10 


U3 


682 


6.683 


10— 


&66 


6 17 


4|-22 


49 


989 


9,723 


10- 


' 139* 


8 20 


4§-7 
4|-22 


12 


2,033 


9,322 


4| 


356 


59 


50 


6,649 


63, 634 


9§ 


553 


75 


3 -24 


115 


4.988 


53.812 


11 



Annual 
cost. 



S4, 600, 000 
11,164,000 
8,900,000 
16, 100, 000 
41,000,000 
51.SOO.000 



1 Including officers of marines. 

2 Thirteen building. 

3 Seven building. 

4 Six building. 

5 Besides many smaller vessels. 

6 Four of these are the largest, swiftest, and most heavily armored and armed ships ever built, carrying 
each four 100-ton Armstrong guns. 

7 Of these only 57 are serviceable, including small dispatch vessels, torpedo rams, and the monitors for 
harbor defense. 

8 Monitors for harbor defense, including four new ones begun and three requiring extensive repairs. 



Examining this table, we observe that the United States have 25 per cent as many 
ships (including the unserviceable), but only 17f per cent as many in commission as 
England. That to man these we have 18 per cent as many men as England, or about 
the same proportion of men to vessels, if tonnage were equal; but the ratio of our officers 
to those of England is 41 per cent, or nearly 2\ times greater than that of ships or men. 

While Italy has a powerful navy, with 49 heavily armored modern war cruisers, 4 
of which are equal to any naval ships in the world; while she employs nearly 1,000 
more men to man them than we muster, she has less than half the number of officers 
and spends only about one-half as much annually to carry on her efficient and formida- 
ble force as we spend upon our insignificant collection of antiquated hulks. 

A further glance at the table shows that the United States has more than double 
the proportion of officers to men of any nation. Could there be a stronger proof that 
our Navy is top-heavy with officers than is shown in this comparison? Even if the 
United States Navy should become in years as strong in ships and guns as that of Italy, 
half its present number of officers would yet suffice. There seems no likelihood that 
any future exigency will arise which would warrant the retention and support of the 
great horde of idlers now on the rolls. Even if a remote contingency would warrant it, 
the demoralizing effect of idleness meanwhile upon even a willing and able body of 
men would weigh strongly against such retention. 

The most shameful misapplication of means to ends in the management of the Navy 
is, however, shown in the column of annual expenditures when considered in con- 
nection with the facts in the rest of the table; for while the United States have a navy 
not worth mentioning in comparison with that of either of these great powers, the 
statistics show that it is spending yearly a far greater proportionate sum upon the 
floating mass of incompetency known as its Navy than any of these nations spends 
upon its powerfully armed fleet. 

Our Navy expends yearly 29^ per cent as much as England for construction and 
repairs and cost of yards and docks; yet while England includes in this the yearly 
addition to her navy of 10,000 to 15,000 tons in new vessels, we include none. 

At our ratio of expenditure we should add 3,000 to 5,000 in new tonnage every year. 
Although we add nothing, yet this ceaseless grind of $11,319 a day for maintaining the 



332 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

navy yards (five-eighths of which, according to the Secretary's report, is unnecessary) 
goes steadily on, and the annual millions for construction and repair continue to be 
swallowed up and leave no monument. 

The figures of the table, although they touch only upon principal points of com- 
parison, are full of instruction and significance. Were the comparison carried further, 
to embrace the details of management and expenditure, the results would be still more 
astonishing. 

It would be interesting to inquire how the $369,000,000 which Congress has provided 
for the Navy within the 17 years since the close of the late war has been spent; to learn 
by what superlative neglect our Navy has dwindled from the 675 vessels which it 
maintained at the beginning of these 17 years to the 139 of all classes it now carries on 
the list, yet among which is not a single effective modern cruiser. It would be inter- 
esting to ascertain what maelstrom has sucked down this goodly fleet of 536 ships of 
the Navy, their decks strewn with the Nation's gold to the tune of more than 
-$21,000,000 a year. 

It would be a further interesting study, in view of the fact that we have neither 
vessels nor ordnance in the Navy, to determine what has become of the vast sum of 
$98,435,875 which has been appropriated within the past 17 years for the construc- 
tion and repairs alone of naval vessels, and of the $12,832,029.23 which Congress has 
provided for ordnance during the same period, not to speak of the $32,724,712.48 
appropriated for the maintenance of navy yards, making the towering aggregate of 
$143,992,617 which the Nation has contributed toward the vessels of the Navy and 
their armanents since the last war. Such enormous expenditures of money in ordi- 
nary business are expected to produce some fabric, some edifice or structure; in this 
instance the result seems nothing. 

It is not my purpose to charge intentional extravagance or profligacy upon the Navy, 
but I do say that the published reports constituting the financial history of that 
department afford an inviting field of inquiry when the Navy seeks the absorption 
of the civil departments on the ground of the superiority of the naval methods in 
management and economy. If the school of economy to which the Revenue Marine 
is to be turned over is such as that shown in the affairs of the Navy, if such is the man- 
agement by which the promised improvement is to be gained, if the results indicated 
are such as'flow from the "superior discipline " of the Navy, it is respectfully suggested 
that Congress pause before trying to improve the civil service by the experiment 
which is invited. 

REASONS ALLEGED FOR TRANSFER NOT VALID. 

As an argument for the transfer, considerable stress is laid upon the benefit to be 
derived by the young naval officers in their service upon the revenue cutters, from 
the practice it would give them in handling ships in shoal waters and narrow harbors, 
and the opportunity it would afford them of learning pilotage. No one will dispute 
that they need this sort of knowledge, but I venture to suggest that they need not be 
consumed with ungratified ambition in this regard, even under present conditions. 
Furloughed naval officers might now, without infringing any law, find employment 
on merchant steamers and ships in the coasting trade, where the facilities for learning 
pilotage and the handling of vessels would be equal to if not better than those on reve- 
nue vessels, and thus be brought into useful association with a class of maritime officers 
who maintain their character and positions through their business energy and the mast- 
ery of their profession rather than through advantages of education or social standing. 

It would indeed seem creditable were the 236 naval officers now waiting orders (for 
the payment of whose salaries an aggregate of $376,000 is annually drawn from the 
Public Treasury) to find some useful employment by which they might improve them- 
selves in their profession, if they are to be retained. 

If to the naval officers waiting orders we add those on shore or other duty, we find 
880 officers not required to officer the ships, drawing in salaries annually the total of 
•SI, 944, 500. This calculation does not embrace the officers of the Marine Corps, who 
receive yearly $174,040. Yet Congress is asked, as a measure of economy, to turn 
over the Revenue Marine, costing only about $950,000 annually, to a department 
wasting every year upon its surplus officers at least $1,000,000. 

It is understood that the claim is advanced that the Revenue Marine and other 
kindred branches of the civil administration which do business on the water should 
be turned over to the Navy, because the latter is also a floating service. As well 
might the Army, on the score of being a land service, demand that all the work of the 
Government upon the land be turned over to the War Department. With these 
theories prevailing we should indeed simplify our form of government, for we should 
need none but military officers to manage the affairs of the country. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 333 

The fact is, the business of the Revenue-Marine officer is as distinct from that of the 
naval officer as one land service is from another. The military drill and instruction 
of the Revenue-Marine officer do not necessarily make him a naval officer, any more 
than the present education of a naval officer fits him to manage vessels in harbors and 
along the shoal waters of the coast. It is pertinent to mention here that naval officers 
in command of vessels have been particularly unfortunate when cruising near the 
coast. A noteworthy evidence of this is seen in the disasters which have befallen 
their vessels voyaging to Alaska and the northern Pacific waters within the past few 
years. The steamer Suivanee, 746 tons, struck on a rock and was lost in Shadwell 
Passage, British Columbia, en route to Sitka, July 9, 1868; the steamer Saginaw, 282 
tons, was lost while on a surveying mission October 29, 1870, on a shoal off Midway 
Island, Pacific Ocean; and the Saranac, a steamer of 1,238 tons, struck on a reef and 
was lost, June 18, 1875, in Seymour Narrows, British Columbia, en route to Sitka. 
Not a few, comparatively speaking, of the 536 naval vessels which have vanished 
within the last 17 years may be accounted for in like manner. 

These vessels were lost in ordinary cruising. In contrast to these losses may be 
placed the fact that the vessels of the Revenue Marine have cruised to Alaska every 
year since the acquisition of that Territory in 1867 without loss or serious damage to 
any vessel. Singularly enough, one of the few instances of a cutter touching upon the 
bottom having occurred to the Corwin last summer when transporting to San Fran- 
cisco the people of the lost naval exploring steamer Rodgers, destroyed by fire the 
preceding winter in the Arctic Ocean. 

The facts presented effectually settle in the negative the question of increased 
economy of management, which it has been claimed would result from a transfer of 
the Revenue Marine to the Navy Department. 

There is one slender argument yet remaining — that of the Revenue-Marine cadet sys- 
tem. Congress provided for the system only in 1876, and in such a modest way that 
the steps in its conduct so far have been necessarily more experimental than otherwise. 

The vacancies in the Revenue Marine Corps average from four to five a year. The 
small number of cadets appointed for these vacancies are educated on a revenue 
cutter without inconvenience. Congress,' in providing for the system (vol. 19, 
U. S. Stat., p. 107), made no appropriations for its maintenance, and none has 
ever been asked. The cadets are appointed to places made vacant in the grade 
of third lieutenant, and the vacancies in the latter grade are held open until 
the graduation of the cadets. The pay of cadets being but three-fourths that of a 
third lieutenant, there is a considerable annual saving from the difference of pay for 
such places as are held in abeyance. Indeed, this saving more than equals all the 
expenses of the cadet system. The instruction is given on board a vessel fulfilling her 
regular duties upon one of the stations of the service at a point where a cutter has 
always had headquarters. The results of the trial already had of the system are favor- 
able, although it has some defects, one of which is that the course is too short. It 
should be extended to four years. The pay is, on the other hand, too much, and 
should be reduced to about $500 a year. Under no circumstances can the cadet system 
of the Revenue Marine ever prove embarrassing or expensive even in a small degree 
as is that of Annapolis in a large degree. As to the suggestion that these cadets ought 
to be educated at the Naval Academy, the answer is made that the course of study 
and the methods of instruction at that institution are not suited to the wants of the 
Revenue Marine. If the attempt were made to instruct Revenue-Marine cadets at the 
Naval Academy, it would be found necessary to provide a separate course for them. 
If the present inexpensive system of instruction for Revenue-Marine cadets were to 
be discontinued, it would be far preferable to return to the old system of recruiting the 
corps of officers by means of competitive examinations open to persons who have 
already had practical sea experience in the merchant service, rather than to draw from 
.graduates of the Annapolis school. The system of admission upon competitive exam- 
ination would not bar out young men in civil life who had been educated at Annapolis, 
but they would have to compete for the places like any other applicants. The system 
referred to. as being in vogue up to 1876, had in it many commendable features; and, 
while desirous of giving the cadet system further trial under such improved con- 
ditions as have been heretofore recommended, there is no disposition to cling to it 
unless improvements can be added. As before stated, the services differ so widely 
in their objects and aims as to be practically distinct. 

With but four to six vacancies occurring annually in the Revenue Marine, how 
meager the argument that the absorption of this service as proposed would afford 
appreciable relief to the naval corps, whose ranks are burdened with nearly nine 
hundred clamorous idlers. 



334 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

NAVY METHODS CUMBROUS AND EXPENSIVE. 

Wore the revenue vessels, now sound, staunch, and seaworthy, turned over to the 
Navy Department, what reason have we to believe that they would not soon become 
worthless under such management as has brought the Navy to its present state of 
degeneracy and ruin. These vessels would be subject to the navy-yard systems. 
Their repairs must fall under the various heads of bureaus of the Navy Department. 
The work now done under one direction or management would under naval control 
be variously parceled out. Each revenue cutter would pass through some such 
ordeal as this: The Bureau of Navigation would have the assignment to stations of 
the vessels and officers; the Bureau of Steam Engineering, the boilers and machinery; 
the Bureau of Construction and Repair would take in hand the hull; the Bureau of 
Ordnance would see to the cannon and small arms; the Bureau of Provisions and 
Clothing would provide for the clothing and rations; the Bureau of Equipment 
and Recruiting look after the vessel's outfits and the enlistments of the sailors; 
the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery see to the replenishing of the medicine 
locker and place a surplus medical officer in charge. Should the craft become utterly 
dismembered in this circuitous voyaging from one bureau to another, she might be 
turned over to the Bureau of Yards and Docks, under whose supervision she could 
find a resting place in some snug berth where she might decay and drop to pieces 
undisturbed. Seriously speaking, this bureau system could not but prove cumbrous 
and expensive applied to revenue vessels. Its circumlocution would necessarily 
cause embarrassing delay in effecting the simple repairs that are frequently required 
upon the cutters to keep them in condition for active work. Such delays in case of 
vessels whose service is often valuable only as it can be rendered with promptness and 
celerity would be especially detrimental. These detentions would prevent a ready 
compliance with the requisitions of the Secretary of the Treasury for vessels for special 
duty. 

Again, the cost of doing work at the navy yards is well known to be much greater 
than by contract with private parties. The system of labor alone would cause an 
increase in cost, which would be augmented by other causes adverted to before. 

It is inevitable that great loss in economy would result from the transfer. 

WOULD SMUGGLERS BE GOOD CUSTOMS OFFICERS? 

Aside from the question of economy or other administrative reasons before referred 
to, there is another quite important one for withholding from naval officers the delicate 
duty of protecting the revenue. Notwithstanding the provision of law (sec. 1624, 
U. S. Rev. Stats.) that "no person connected with the Navy shall, under any pre- 
I tense, import in a public vessel any article which is liable to the payment of duty," 
from time immemorial one of the most difficult kinds of smuggling against which 
the vigilance of the customs officers has been directed is the introduction of dutiable 
•goods in the baggage of naval officers returning upon vessels of the Navy from foreign 
stations. While stringent regulations are maintained and enforced against the smug- 
gling of merchandise by passengers of the general public arriving at our ports from 
abroad, not only their baggage but even their persons being subject to search by 
the inspectors, no certain means exist of reaching the personal baggage of the naval 
officers returning by their own ships. No oath or certificate is required of them 
that they have not in their effects dutiable goods in fraud of the customs revenue. 
Enjoying such immunity there is no check or restraint upon them beyond that imposed 
by a sensitive conscience. Statesmen, judges, tradesmen, and others of the general 
public are not exempted from the search, but naval officers may escape it. A casual 
inquiry into the subject covering only the period of five years, beginning with 1878 
and ending with December, 1882, shows that five naval vessels returning from foreign 
stations within that period have been used by naval officers in violation of section 
1624 of the statutes, as transports for the importation of merchandise, and that the 
attempt was made to land such merchandise without the payment of the duties 
prescribed by law. The value of goods (appraised by the naval officers themselves 
at a nominal price in many cases) thus unlawfully imported and landed is over $7,000. 
The number of officers of the Navy directly concerned in this business was over 50. 
Forty-two packages were seized at the express office where they were being shipped 
beyond the reach of customs officers. Some of these packages were addressed to 
naval officers, others to families of naval officers, and others still to private citizens. 
One package, containing 288 pairs of kid gloves, was addressed to a merchant in 
New York City. In this connection must be noted the remarkable fact that these 
scandalous infractions of law and the naval regulations seem not to have been visited 
with discipline. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 335 

If naval officers, sworn to observe the laws of their country, can thus unblushingly 
violate the law as well as the duty of good citizens; if they are thus recreant to the 
trusts with which they are charged, can they ask to have other and more delicate 
duties intrusted to their keeping? Would not naval officers commanding revenue 
vessels be tempted to shield their brother officers returning with the "spoils" of a 
foreign cruise, especially since their turn to go abroad might be near at hand? Would 
the naval officer fresh from abroad, his baggage plethoric with such peculations,, be 
the proper person to guard the coffers of the Treasury? Would the department, 
which by its failure to punish these violations seems to wink at plundering the revenue., 
be the proper one to superintend its protection? 

FAILURE OF FORMER ATTEMPTS AT TRANSFER. 

The movement now being made for the transfer of the Revenue Marine is not the 
first attempt of the Navy to absorb this service. A similar attempt was made in 184S 
and met with deserved failure. The Hon. Walter Forward, then Secretary of the 
Treasury, having been requested by a committee of the Senate to give his views odj 
the proposition, expressed strong disapproval of the plan. He deemed that there was 
manifest propriety in a continuance of the existing system; that the change, to use his 
language, was "calculated to embarrass the operations of this department in carrying;, 
into' effect with proper energy the legal means placed in its hands for the security andi 
protection of the revenue." He adds, significantly: "Without intending any dis- 
paragement of the officers of the Navy, it is not believed that the habits and discipline - 
of that meritorious class of men are calculated to suit the character of the service to < 
which it is proposed to assign them, especially when they must be subjected to the 
orders and directions of the collector of the customs, as provided by the ninety-ninth % 
section of the act of 2d of March, 1799, which subjection is deemed highly essential, . 
both for the efficiency of the duties to be discharged and the better security of the 
interests of the revenue." 

Referring to the trial given the employment of naval officers in the service upom 
revenue vessels, but discontinued in 1832, he says: "After a short trial it was found! 
necessary to discontinue [it] in consequence of the difficulties and objections which, 
occurred in the practical operation of the measure." 

The Committee on Commerce of the Senate presented, through Senator. Huntington,, 
of Connecticut, an adverse report upon the proposition of 1843, to hand the business 
over to the Navy Department. I quote from their report some pertinent passages: 
"The duties required of those who have the command of these [revenue] vessels are 
such as belong almost exclusively to the enforcement of the revenue laws. Hence it' 
seems to be peculiarly appropriate that those employed in this service should be under 
the direction and control of the officer who is charged with the execution of the laws 
relating to customs. This was the leading feature of the policy which led to the 
establishment of this branch of the public service. It has stood the test of time and 
experience and has 'worked well.' To abandon it for the purpose of trying a new 
experiment would be at least hazardous and is not called for by any exigency known 
to the committee." 

They add further on: "The committee are satisfied that sound policy requires that 
the revenue service and the naval service should be kept distinct, * * * and 
[the former] under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury." 

It is needless to add that the action of the Senate was in accord with the report of 
the Committee on Commerce. It is observed that Congress has always looked coldly, 
not to say with displeasure, upon every attempt of the Navy to aggrandize its power 
by absorbing the functions of civil administration. 

Looking back, we find arrayed against this measure Alexander Hamilton, the author 
of our system of finance, and two other eminent Secretaries of the Treasury — Louis 
McLane, in 1832, and Walter Forward, in 1843. We have also an unbroken line of 
Secretaries of the Treasury, from Hamilton to the present time, whose approval of 
the present arrangement as wise and salutary seems attested by their acquiescence'. 
It remained for a master in the Navy — whose report is appended to the annual report 
of the honorable the Secretary of the Navy, and upon the statements of which the 
latter appears to have based principally his recommendations for the transfer — to 
discover the incongruities of the system and point out its hidden defects, to teach: 
statecraft to statesmen, to roll back the curtain of time and reveal the errors of judg- 
ment of the founders of the Republic. 

THE SCHEME IMPRACTICABLE AND COSTLY. 

The Revenue Marine, which has earned a respectable place in the Nation's history,, 
would seem to have rights and be entitled to consideration at the hands of Congress as 
well as the Navy, yet the proposition is to wipe it out, to sink its history, to place its 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 22 



336 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

officers in unequal service with naval officers. If the latter had, with thought and 
enterprise and by industry and energy, built up some civil branch in the Navy De- 
partment and now sought legal authority for its continuance in the unnatural relation, 
their demand might seem to have some ground of justice, but to come with bold 
effrontery and ask Congress to strike down an honorable and efficient branch of the 
civil establishment in order to benefit naval officers may perhaps be characterized as 
impudent. It is not often that the National Legislature is asked to perpetuate so great 
a wrong for the benefit of a class already highly favored. 

■ It may be said, in passing, that the defects of the pending bill are numerous and that 
it presents in a most repulsive light the formulation of the proposition conclusively 
shown to be repugnant to fair dealing and public justice. The imperfections of the 
'bill are, however, merged in the general objections which surround the whole plan of 
Navy aggrandizement. Nevertheless, were the reasons as strong in favor of the trans- 
fer of this branch of the civil service to the Navy Department as they are against it, 
•this bill would still be bad and its passage be hurtful to the public interest. 
.. A few more words upon the question of economy as involved in the proposed transfer. 
Should naval officers take the place of the Revenue Marine, the increased pay alone of 
the corps would be, at a reasonable calculation, $50,000 a year. Were the officers 
detailed all holding commissions more than five years old the increase would be 
exactly $64,000; but if some were newly commissioned, the increase would be corre- 
spondingly less. 

. So far from the change being in the interest of economy, the testimony shows the 
reverse to be true. The cost of the service would be largely increased in all the items 
.that enter into ,the expense of its operation. 
, But more, even, than the increased cost of management would be the incapacity of 
^ naval officers for the work, their experience and education all tending in a different 
direction. Moreover, they would never become proficient in the duty. By the rules 
of the Navy Department governing details of officers two years is the usual length of an 
officer's tour or period of service upon a particular duty or station. Following this 
r.ule, a naval officer, after two years' service upon a revenue cutter, might be expected 
to go to sea on a naval vessel. If he were subjected to his fair rotation of duty, he 
would take the rounds of the naval stations, first to one and then to another of the five 
■squadrons maintained by the Navy, designated as the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, 
Pacific, Asiatic, and Mediterranean. Completing this round, he might be assigned to 
shore duty for 2 years longer, making 12 years in all, when he would be again 
•eligible for assignment to a revenue vessel. His first limited experience would have 
been forgotten in the interim. Under such an arrangement the revenue vessels would 
soon become subject to the same sad train of collisions, strandings, and other disasters 
which now beset the naval vessels upon our coast, when, as appears by the information 
recently furnished Congress (vide H. Ex. Doc. No. 26), there are in a single year 27 
casualties for 32 vessels of the Navy in commission. Years of patient and industrious 
application are necessary to enable the Revenue-Marine officer to become proficient 
and skilled in his profession and the duties incident thereto. In the system of shift- 
ing details to which naval officers are necessarily subjected, if the service be impartially 
administered, it would not be possible for such officers to become fitted for the business 
of revenue officers. 

': Forty years ago the Senate said that the Revenue Marine had stood the test of time 
and "worked well." The same may be now affirmed in still stronger terms. 

The good condition and efficiency of the Revenue Marine, justice to its officers, its 
history, its record, demand its retention in the Treasury. The convenience of the 
public business, the relations of this branch to other civil branches in the Treasury, 
the natural order, the harmony, the fitness of things, demand its retention. The bad 
^ condition of the Navy, the extravagance in the management, the disregard by its 
officers of law and regulations, their unfitness for the work, forbid the transfer to that 
department. 

, Finally, it may be said that against the scheme of enlarging the scope and power of 
the Navy Department by endowing it with a great body of civil functions, of which 
the pending bill is but the entering wedge, are arrayed all the traditions of the Re- 
public, all the precedents of congressional action, all considerations of sound public 
policy. The judgment of our country's founders is against it, the custom and practice 
of years are against it, the voice of the people is against it. 

Very respectfully, E. W. Clark, 

Chief Revenue- Marine Division. 

Hon. Charles J. Folger, 

Secretary of the Treasury. 



HEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 337 

The proposal was again renewed in 1889 by Hon. Benjamin Tracy, 
Secretary of the Navy, in his annual report for that year. Regard- 
ing this proposal, he said: 

[Extract from report of Secretary Tracy for 1889.] 
THE REVENUE-MARINE SERVICE. 

The recommendation is made by the Board of Visitors at the Naval Academy that 
the officers of the Revenue-Marine Service should be taken from the graduates of the 
academy. This suggestion is sound and timely, but does not go far enough. The 
extravagance of maintaining in the United States what are practically two navies, 
one for ocean service and the other for coast service, supplied by two naval academies, 
•one of which discharges half of its pupils at graduating, has at different times been 
pointed out, and nowhere more forcibly than in the reports of the Secretary of the 
Navy for 1882 and 1883. The report for 1882 says: 

"In the interests of economy the change suggested is desirable. While the Navy 
proper is being reduced, the Government is keeping up a revenue navy of 34 captains, 
86 lieutenants, and 65 engineers; in all, 185 officers. Two training schools are main- 
tained to do the work of one. The Naval Academy at Annapolis is supplied with a full 
corps of instructors, and every appliance for the training at all times 335 naval cadets. 
At the same time another school is maintained at New Bedford for the training of 
Revenue-Marine cadets, covering the same ground, only in a limited degree, and 
with imperfect appliances. The Revenue-Marine cadets receive $900 a year during 
their service at the school. 

" Recent legislation has provided that only a part of each graduating class at 
Annapolis shall enter the Navy, while the remainder shall be given a year's pay 
and remanded to private life. All these young men, upon whom the Government has 
bestowed a gratuitous education, are well fitted for their profession, from which they 
are thus excluded; and by opening the cruisiDg-cutter service to these graduates of 
the Naval Academy the Government will save, at a single stroke, the whole cost of a 
duplicate establishment." 

The department therefore strongly recommends a consolidation of the coast-guard 
Navy and the ocean Navy. It is believed that no practical difficulties lie in the 
way of its accomplishment. The present Revenue Marine, composed of some 200 
officers, should be taken bodily into the naval service, subject in all respects to the 
laws, and entitled to all the privileges which attach to the naval commission. 

The interests of the existing Revenue Marine officers being thus carefully guarded, 
their employment and emoluments will continue as at the present time. As vacancies 
occur at the foot of the list they should be filled, not by special appointment, but by 
the temporary detail of junior naval officers, thereby diminishing the number of 
cadets discharged each year from the graduating class at the academy. As the num- 
bers of the Revenue-Marine Corps decrease, the number of junior officers of the Navy 
employed on the duty would increase, until in the course of time the corps would 
pass away by the operation of natural causes, such as retirement, death, and resignation. 

As to employment, the officers of the Revenue-Marine Corps, as long as it lasted, 
and those of the Navy supplying the places made vacant in the corps, would perform 
the duties now incident to the Revenue Marine. The cruising cutters should be 
officered and manned by a force fully incorporated in the naval organization. 

The duties of the Navy and Revenue Marine are identical in general character, and 
differ only in their administrative objects. One polices the ocean, the other the coast. 
The seizure of smugglers, the only duty of the Revenue Marine that has direct relation 
with the collection of customs, is precisely similar to the duty of naval officers in 
seizing vessels engaged in contraband trade in time of war. Other duties of the 
Revenue Marine, such as the enforcement of the neutrality laws and the suppression 
of piracy and of mutinies in merchant vessels, are now actually imposed on and per- 
formed by the Navy in common with the sister service. 

The rescue of distressed vessels and seamen on our coast is as much the duty of naval 
as of revenue officers, and the only reason why the former do not perform it is because 
they are not on the coast or have no suitable vessels for the service. For the other 
miscellaneous duties of the Revenue Marine, such as the enforcement of the laws 
applicable to shipping, the prevention of unlawful traffic in firearms in Alaska, and 
the protection of the seal fisheries in Bering Sea, naval officers are perfectly well 
fitted. Finally, in time of war both law and custom sanction the employment of the 
Revenue Marine in naval operations. 

The practical identity of the services lies in the fact that both are nautical and both 
are military. There is absolutely no reason for a distinction between them, and a 



338 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

consolidation would inure to the advantage of both; and it is believed that the officers- 
of both services would regard the change with favor. The junior naval officers who 
would gradually obtain employment in the cutters would find the service of great 
practical benefit, and the knowledge they would thus obtain of the pilotage of our own 
coasts and harbors would be an overwhelming advantage to the Government during 
their whole professional career. Finally, in the interests of a sound economy, the* 
consolidation must sooner or later take place, and the sooner it comes the better it 
will be for the country, for the Navy, and for the Revenue Marine. 

Bills transferring the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury 
Department to the Navy Department were introduced in the House. 
A substitute bill (H. R. 6944) was reported favorably by Mr. H. C- 
Lodge from the Committee on Naval Affairs/ and passed the House 
but failed to pass the Senate, although favorably reported by the 
Senate Naval Committee, April 2, 1890. A similar bill had been 
favorably reported by the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs on the 
14th day of February, 1890. 

The report of the House committee reproduces the recommenda- 
tions of Secretaries Chandler and Tracy, and also a letter by Mr. 
Windom, Secretary of the Treasur} r , approving of the transfer. Fol- 
lowing is a copy of this letter: 

Treasury Department, January 9, 1890. 
Sir: I have respectfully to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2d instant,, 
transmitting for my examination and views House bill 450, providing for the transfer 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury Department to the Navy Depart- 
ment, and in reply have the honor to state that I have examined the bill with the view 
to the interests of the Government and the officers concerned, and that it meets with 
my approval. 
The bill is herewith returned as requested. 

Respectfully, yours, W. Windom, Secretary. 

Hon. Cearles S. Baker, 

Chairman Committee on Commerce, House of Representatives . 

The conclusion of the House committee as contained in its report 
was stated as follows: 

In conclusion, your committee will say that the proposed transfer will result in a 
large saving to the Government, as will be seen by the following estimate (Appendix 
A) and they, therefore, believe that on every ground of efficiency and economy the- 
bill should pass. 

The conclusions of the Senate committee were stated in the follow- 
ing terms : 

It thus appears from its history that the naval character of the Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice has been recognized from its foundation, by its employment in warlike operations 
in every war in which the country has engaged, by its prescribed duties, by the arma- 
ment of its vessels and their crews, and by uniforming and giving naval rank to its 
officers. 

Although doing naval duties in times of peace and war, it has been hitherto, and now 
is, occupying the anomalous position of being under the control of the Treasury Depart- 
ment. All its duties are naval, 2 the only association they have with the Treasury 
is that these duties are performed for protecting the revenues of the Government. 
All the appliances used and the services rendered are essentially such as pertain to- 
a naval establishment. 

It would seem, therefore, to need no argument to show that a service that requires 
officers to command public armed vessels and seamen to man them should be a part 
of the Naval Establishment. 

i H. Rept. No. 76, 51st Cong., 1st sess. 

2 This is not true at the present time, and for that reason the commission is not now recommending the 
transfer of the entire service to the Navy Department, but only that that department shall hereafter dis- 
charge the naval duties now being performed by the Revenue-Cutter Service. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 339 

It should be stated also that the officers of the Revenue-Marine 
Service at this time were strongly in favor of the transfer. Of the 
206 officers then in the service, 198 joined in a petition addressed to 
the Secretary of the Treasury urging that this action be taken. 
Following is a copy of this petition : 

Bon. William Windom, 

Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sir: We, the undersigned, commissioned officers of the United States Revenue 
Marine, represent that for many years efforts have been made before Congress, always 
^with the approval of the honorable Secretary of the Treasury for the time being, 
looking to the promotion of the interests of our service; that of the numerous appeals 
made, whether through bills presented to Congress or upon the recommendations by 
your honored predecessors, not one has been successful. We now appear before you 
as petitioners earnestly invoking your aid to obtain, through the National Legislature, 
the relief we seek from the injurious distinctions which exist between the Revenue 
Marine and kindred branches of the public service. To this end we have the honor 
to submit what follows as setting forth some of the most glaring and undeniable facts 
bearing upon the disadvantages under which we labor. 

While many of our duties (mainly those which pertain to the customs service) are 
characteristic of the civil establishment, our organization, training, discipline, naval 
rank (conferred by law), the equipment and armament of our vessels — all are military. 
Thus, while allied to both the civil and military services of the Government, and 
-constantly discharging functions common to both, we are upon an equal footing with 
neither. 

The hours of duty or labor required of the civil employee of the Government are 
Hxed by law, are comparatively few, and confined to daylight, usually from 9 a. m. 
to 4 p. m. He is subjected to no sudden or unusual calls which demand of him an exhi- 
bition of manly fortitude or courageous effort, and never to risk his life to save others; 
no life or property is ever in jeopardy for the loss of which he can be held even remotely 
responsible; when his office hours end his work is done, and the rest of the day is his 
in which to do what he will; overtaken by sickness, his pay goes on and no reduction 
is made; he is given by law 30 days' leave of absence each year without forfeiture of 
salary; he can choose his own home and secure its privacy; here he can gather about 
him his household goods, and enjoy the congenial circle of friends of his choice, live 
in accord with his tastes and within his means; he has but the one home to maintain, 
and, being constantly at its fireside, can practice such economy of his means as will 
secure him against privations in his declining years; he experiences no more of the 
vicissitudes of life than the ordinary salaried man of business — hardly so much, 
"because his income is assured; should sickness or death invade his home he is always 
within call; he can devote his leisure to such interests and occupations as taste and 
inclination may dictate, thus gratifying desires which render life most endurable, 
while not a few instances can be cited wherein the incumbents of public office thus 
circumstanced have been enabled by the leisure afforded them after office hours to 
qualify themselves for the practice of law, medicine, and other professions; in short, 
the choice is left to him whether he will be a drone in the hive or become a useful 
•citizen, fitted to cope with his fellow man in any or all the avenues of life. 

On the other hand, the officer of the Revenue Marine has no settled home or habi- 
tation; he is, by force of circumstances, a nomad; he has two separate and distinct 
establishments to maintain — his own temporary resting place on shipboard and the 
equally transitory lodgings of his wife and family on shore ; he is confined to cramped 
and inconvenient quarters, in which, for the most part, decent privacy is denied him; 
he inhabits, with half a dozen others, a room 10 feet by 18 feet. Here he must eat, 
sleep, perform his ablutions, receive and entertain his friends, and break his daily 
bread with the congenial and uncongenial alike; his sleeping berth is barely large 
enough to contain his person; his comforts are such as he can catch as his life wears on; 
his hours of duty embrace the night as well as the day, and cover the whole 24; he is 
burdened with the responsibility of many lives, as well as with the care incident to 
the safety of the property confided to his skill and courage; he must brave the terrors 
of Arctic seas and face the rigors of the terrible winters of our northern seaboards; 
he must expose himself to the malaria of our southern harbors, and to the yellow fever 
in the Mexican Gulf; he must cheerfully leap from his berth at midnight to obey, often 
half clad, amid storm and tempest, the summons to save life and property. Amid all 
4iscomfitting and discouraging circumstances, in the faithful execution of his duty, 
his voice must be heard above the tumult and din cheerily encouraging his subordi- 
nates and giving to them the example of a leader for their emulation. Stricken ill in 



340 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the line of duty, he is rewarded for his abnegation of self by having his already small 
pay cut down, and this at the very time he most needs it; and so, absent from wife 
and children, home and friends, he fares as best he may; if he visits his wife and 
children after long absence, "on leave," he must pay for the privilege by having his- 
pay reduced for the duration of the leave, be the same one day or 30; placed on "wait- 
ing orders," whether to satisfy an exigency of the service, or other, he must quietly 
submit, have his pay reduced, and defray his own expenses, out of what is left, to his 
post-office address. 

The naval officer receives larger pay in the same rank and holds higher rank for 
the same service; his ordinary duties are less constant, less arduous, and less dan- 
gerous; his is a deep-sea service; ours a coasting service, which is the most hazardous 
and trying known to the seafarer. His pay is not cut down when sick, and he is 
entitled to 30 days' leave each year with full pay; if placed on "waiting orders" 
he is furnished transportation to his place of residence; he has constantly before him 
the incentive of higher rank; but, without that, his salary increases with length of 
service; wronged, he can appeal to a court of his peers, and no harm can come to^ 
him save through the sentence of such a court. If he loses his life in service, his- 
widow becomes a ward of the Nation; when rendered unfit to discharge the functions 
of his commission, by reason of the infirmities of age or other disability, he is retired 
upon a competency and can spend his declining years in honor and comfort, earned 
by a life's devotion to duty. Every right and privilege enjoyed by the naval officer 
is carefully vested and guarded by law. 

The officer of the Revenue Marine has none, can claim none of these things, and yet 
there is not a single valid reason that has ever been or can be advanced as argument 
for granting them to officers of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps which does not 
apply with equal force in behalf of the Revenue-Marine officer. He discharges the- 
multifarious, often delicate, and always onerous trusts imposed upon him, cheered 
by no expectation of honors, incited by no hope of other reward than a consciousness 
of duty performed . He has not a single vested right by virtue of the commission 
he holds. There is not a line in the statutes which guarantees to him a fair and im- 
partial trial by his peers, that he may escape oppression and injustice. Neither is 
there a word in the law that places him upon an equal or fair footing with his brother 
seafarer of the Navy as to rank, compensation, rights, or privileges, and yet the duties 
and life of the one are strangely in consonance with the other, any existing differences- 
being entirely favorable to the naval officer. 

Thus have we endeavored to lay before you as briefly as possible a few of the salient 
reasons which actuate us in seeking relief, and having, as we believe, exhausted effort 
in other years to secure some of the rights and privileges to which we are justly entitled 
by virture of our commissions and the service upon which we are employed, and which 
are so freely bestowed upon and guaranteed to the naval service, for which we are' 
kindred, and failed, and believing, furthermore, that it is the unmistakable purpose- 
that no measure looking to the retirement and pensioning of civil servants of the- 
Government can pass Congress, we conclude that our best hope of obtaining what we 
seek is by transfer to the Navy, and we invite your able scrutiny, Mr. Secretary, of 
the proposed provisions of Senate bill 3924, which is designed to effect this. We re- 
spectfully submit that under the provisions of this eminently conservative measure- 
no possible injury can result, and we earnestly contend that great good must accrue- 
to the public service should this bill be enacted into law. Only the professional and 
military portion of the service would be affected by the pending measure; the force 
now at the disposal of the Treasury Department would be augmented, while your con- 
trol of its operations would remain unimpaired, thus insuring the continued perform- 
ance without friction of the duties now imposed upon the Revenue Marine; the- 
transfer sought would relieve your department of the innumerable and vexatious- 
details of a technical service, numbering 200 officers, 1,000 men, and a fleet of 40* 
vessels, while it would continue to obey, as now and heretofore, your mandates and 
the behests of law. 

We who ask your favorable consideration, Mr. Secretary, of the measure submitted,, 
constitute a large majority of the officers of the service whose destiny is affected by it, 
and we do most earnestly commend to you the assuredly undeniable fact that we, of 
all men, must hold most dear to our hearts and understandings the interests of the- 
service in which we have the honor to hold commissions. We have won our present 
positions upon the lists, step by step, from the lowest grades known to the service;: 
many of us have spent our lives from youth to manhood, and grown gray under the flag- 
which our vessels wear, and we earnestly contend that, as compared with the Army, 
Navy, and Marine Corps, whose peers we are, the Revenue Marine is the poorest paid, 
least provided for, and hardest worked organization of commissioned officers in the- 
service of the Nation. Notwithstanding the withering disadvantages under which our 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 341 

service has always labored, we point with just pride to its record for efficiency and de r 
votion to duty, whether it be amid the ice floes of Arctic seas, the winter tempests upon 
the rock-bound coast of New England, or in the fever-infected ports of our coasts 
bordering the Gulf of Mexico. From the performance of the arduous and exacting 
duties of the Revenue Marine for almost a century to the establishment and develop- 
ment of our great Life-Saving Service, which is without a peer on this globe, in which 
our officers have taken an active and conspicuous part, the record is unblemished and 
fairly incomparable. 

In conclusion, sir, we beg you to take into consideration all these matters, and we 
ask most respectfully, but most earnestly, that you will lend us your powerful aid in 
our struggle for that recognition which so long has been withheld; and we entreat you 
to declare, when you come to give answer to the question we submit, if we are not justly 
entitled to the practical recognition of our services — the tangible reward we seek. 

SUPPLEMENTARY REASONS TO THE PETITION TO THE HONORABLE SECRETARY OP 
THE TREASURY FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE REVENUE MARINE WITH THE 
REGULAR NAVY. 

New York City, November 26, 1889. 

Having stated in the body of our petition such reasons as apply to the revenue offi- 
cers individually, we beg to call your attention to the following, in which are set forth 
those which affect the policy of the Government: 

First. Because the Naval Establishment should embrace and consist of all armed 
vessels of the Government which are officered by duly commissioned officers and 
manned by duly enlisted men. 

Second. Because the consolidation in the manner provided and by the terms of this 
bill would be strictly in accord with the character of its organization in 1790, the lead- 
ing features of which were to bestow military rank upon the officers, and to place the- 
vessels, armaments, and discipline upon the same footing as that in vogue in the? 
regular Naval Establishment. 

* ■* #• *• * ■* * 

Fourth. Because the manifest desire of the people that the Naval Establishment 
of the United States should be commensurate with the power and dignity of the Nation 
there is no apparent way in which this establishment can be increased with such little 
expense, and, at the same time, with such great advantage to the public service, as by 
the proposed consolidation. 

Fifth. Because by the provisions of this bill the force now at the command of the 
Treasury Department for the protection of the revenue interest of this country would 
be greatly increased, while, at the same time, the control and authority now vested in 
the honorable Secretary of the Treasury would in nowise be curtailed. 

Sixth. Because Congress, while conferring upon the officers of the Revenue Marine- 
rank relative with the Navy, and while constantly treating the Revenue Marine as a 
part of the regular Naval Establishment of the country, have as constantly refused to 
the officers of this auxiliary corps the benefits appertaining to the Regular Navy. 

Seventh. Because the consolidation of the Revenue Marine with the regular naval 
service would in nowise conflict with the principles of economical administration. 

Eighth. Because by the provisions of the proposed bill naval cadets now relegated 
to civil life from the Naval Academy, because of no vacancies in the Navy, would have 
their services accepted, and in consequence make some return to the Government for 
the expensive education bestowed upon them. At the same time the auxiliary naval 
school for the instruction of Revenue-Marine cadets would be abolished, thereby sav- 
ing to the Government some $50,000 annually. 

Ninth. Because by the consolidation of the Revenue Marine with the Regular Navy 
the Naval Establishment would be rendered more compact and strong and in every 
way be able to perform more efficiently the duties now imposed upon each service 
individually. The value of this unity of action in the event of war would be 
inestimable. 

Tenth. Because it would give the young officers of the Navy, by virtue of the con- 
stant and active service, often hazardous in the extreme, that opportunity to acquire 
habits of command, readiness of resource, to become accustomed to responsibility and 
self-reliance while still active and adventurous. 

Eleventh. Because there would be established at once a practical school in which 
young officers of the Navy would have afforded them excellent opportunities to learn 
the pilotage of our coast; boat duty under dangerous and difficult circumstances; 
handling vessels in crowded water; rescuing vessels ashore; getting lines to and towing 
vessels in heavy weather; taking care of and managing small vessels in gales along 
the coast; having, in fact, to perform various duties with small means and appliances, 



342 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

in this and many other ways preparing them for the high commands and responsi- 
bilities which await them. 

Twelfth. Because it will bring the officers of the whole naval service more often 
and more closely in contact with the business communities of the country, and thus 
enable them to better appreciate and understand the needs of commerce and its 
requirements, of which they are the guardians. 

Thirteenth. Because, by virtue of the vessels, equipment, material, etc., of the 
Revenue Marine being put upon a footing compatible with modern naval require- 
ments by reason of this consolidation, the country would have in time of war a fleet of 
fast vessels well armed, light in draft, highly efficient in speed, powerfully armed, 
and most eminently capable of performing the various duties of torpedo-boat catchers, 
dispatch vessels, scouts for the heavy fleets, keeping open lines of supplies, patrolling 
•coast, rivers, and harbors, forming at all times one of the most powerful adjuncts to 
the country's naval forces. 

Fourteenth. Because the consolidation with the Navy would relieve the honorable 
Secretary of the Treasury of detail duties regarding the personnel and materiel of the 
service, for which he has neither the time nor the technical knowledge to direct in 
person, and which in consequence demands a separate department for its manage- 
ment instead of coming under one individual naval head. 

Fifteenth. Because, there being at present no provisions made for sup3rannuated 
and disabled Revenue-Marine officers, the active list is burdened by a large number 
of old and faithful servants of the people, who, instead of being retired, prevent the 
promotion of young and active men. 

Sixteenth. Because, while benefiting the interest of the public service, the consoli- 
dation would incidentally do justice to a body of public servants whose high standard 
of efficiency, devotion to duty, professional attainments, and personal character 
deserve at least a status of equality with brother officers in a contiguous service. 

Seventeenth. Because the consolidation in the manner provided for in the proposed 
bill, while greatly adding to the strength of the Navy, does not violently disturb exist- 
ing institutions or methods and will produce no friction in present operations. 

Finally, it has been considered possible that the proposed consolidation would 
cripple the Treasury Department in the execution of the laws now committed to the 
Revenue Marine for enforcement. A careful consideration of the provisions of the 
proposed measure will dispel this notion and prove its sophistry. A sufficient answer 
to this suggestion is plainly in the measure itself, but experience has demonstrated 
"that officers of the Army and Navy have always rendered as efficient service while 
under the orders of civil departments as while serving under their own departments. 
Officers of the Army are constantly on duty in the Lighthouse Service, which is a 
branch of the Treasury; so, also, are naval officers, from whose number are detailed 
the inspectors of districts, and who with our Army officers compose the Lighthouse 
Board, of which the Secretary of the Treasury is ex officio president. Officers of the 
Navy and naval seamen perform the work of the Coast Survey under a bureau chie f 
of the civil service, who is under the orders of the Secretary of the -Treasury. 

It will thus be seen that the proposal to transfer the service from 
the Treasury to the Navy Department not only met the approval of 
the service itself, of the Secretaries of both of the departments affected, 
but that of the committees of both Houses of Congress to which bills 
to bring about the transfer were referred. Though passing the 
House and being favorably reported in the Senate, the measure did 
not, however, succeed in getting through the latter body. 

The proposition was revived in the Fifty-second Congress at its first 
session, in 1902. In the meantime Secretary Windom had been 
succeeded by Secretary Foster as head of the Treasury Department. 
The latter placed himself in opposition to the proposed transfer. 
This opposition is expressed in two communications to the Senate. 
'The first of these l is dated February 17, 1892, and reads as follows: 

Treasury Department, 
Office of the Secretary, 
Washington, D. C, February 17, 1892. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a resolution of the Senate of 
the 9th instant, asking the Secretary of the Treasury to communicate to the Senate 
any information in his department in reference to the expediency of transferring the 



S. Ex. Doc. No. 44, 52d Cong., 1st sess. Reprinted in S. Rept. No. 530, 52d Cong., 1st sess. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 343 

Revenue-Marine Service to the Navy Department, and to express his opinion whether 
the public service would be promoted by such change. 

Replying thereto, I beg to say that I am clearly of the opinion that such transfer 
would be inexpedient and unwise. Revenue-Marine officers are engaged on water, as 
are customs officers on land, in detecting and preventing frauds upon the revenue. 
The entire duty, except in case of war, when Revenue-Marine vessels may be assigned 
to naval duties, is under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, and this 
exceptional and possible service, in my opinion, affords no adequate reason for the 
transfer. The department which collects the major portion of the revenue for the 
support of the Government should have complete and undoubted control of the 
instrumentalities for its collection. 

The change proposed would involve increased expenditure; administration by two 
■departments, which is of doubtful expediency, since it is unnecessary and would 
endanger the efficiency of the service. It wouid devolve unusual if not uncongenial 
duty upon naval officers, and I believe it would result that if the Revenue Marine were 
not finally lost in the Navy it would hold a place of secondary importance and afford 
indifferent service to the revenue branch of the Government. 

The personnel of the Revenue-Marine Service, as shown by the last annual report of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, consists of 220 commissioned officers, 28 pilots, and 815 
enlisted men. Thirty-three steamships and 3 sailing vessels are in commission, while 
the expense of the service for the last fiscal year was but $934,995.22; and the evidence 
is abundant that as now constituted it is rendering important and economical service. 
The duties are arduous and dangerous, and while as an administrative and business 
proposition I oppose the change, I earnestly recommend that provision be made for 
re tiring officers who from service or age become incapacitated for active duty. 
Yours, respectfully, 

Charles Foster, Secretary. 

The President of the Senate. 

The second * is dated April 6, 1892, and relates chiefly to details 
regarding the number of vessels of the service, their tonnage, stations, 
distances cruised, etc. The only reference to the proposal to transfer 
the service to the Navy Department is contained in the following 
paragraphs : 

The difference in the annual expense of conducting the service by the Treasury 
Department, as compared with what the expense would be under the Navy Depart- 
ment, is a matter of speculation. The amount now required to pay the salaries and 
wages of the officers and crews would be increased by the proposed legislation about 
$84,000. 

The expense of running the vessels and keeping them in repair, if they do the same 
amount of work and cruise the same distance, must remain nearly the same under 
either department. 

In this connection I beg to inclose "Reports in regard to the transfer of the bureaus 
and divisions of the merchant marine in the Treasury Department to the Navy Depart- 
ment," made in 1883, which then and now are expressive of the views of this depart- 
ment. 

On the other hand, the Secretary of the Navy Department remained 
steadfast in the opinion that the transfer should be made. He sup- 
ported his position in a long letter to Mr. Eugene Hale, the chairman 
of the subcommittee of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the Senate, 
under date of February 29, 1892, a copy of which is as follows: 2 

Navy Department, 
Washington, February 29, 1892. 

Sir: In reply to your letter of January 26, inclosing for my consideration Senate bill 
No. 67, "to transfer the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury Department," and 
requesting my views as to its operation, I have the honor to state as follows: 

More than two years ago, in my first annual report, dated November 30, 1889, after 
consultation with the late Mr. Windom, then Secretary of the Treasury, and in accord- 
ance with the views held by him, I had the honor to recommend a transfer of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service to the Navy. A few weeks later, on January 9, 1890, Sec- 
retary Windom, in an official letter to the Hon. Charles S. Baker, chairman of the 

• i S. Ex. Doc. No. 73, 52d Cong., 1st sess. Reprinted in S. Rept. No. 530, 52d Cong., 1st sess. 
2 S. Misc. Doc. No. 86, 52d Cong., 1st sess. Reprinted in S. Rept. No. 530, 52d Cong., 1st sess. 



344 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Committee on Commerce, stated that he had examined, "with a view to the interests 
of the Government and the officers concerned," the bill providing for the transfer of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury Department to the Navy Department, 
"and that it meets with my approval." 

The general recommendation made in the annual report for 1889 was renewed by me 
in the report for 1890, and again in 1891. 

In view of the fact that the present Secretary of the Treasury is of a different opinion 
from his predecessor on the subject of the transfer, I have been led to give the subject 
deeper consideration and reflection, especially with reference to the pending bill, and 
after examining various arguments that have been made in opposition to the transfer 
I am constrained to state, in answer to the inquiry of the committee, that I am more 
strongly than ever of the opinion that the proposed change is desirable in the interests 
of the public service and should be accomplished at the earliest practicable date. 

As one result of this further investigation I am led to the conclusion that the pro- 
posed transfer can be accomplished with little or no increase in the number of officers 
m the Navy. 

There are 210 officers on the list of the Revenue-Cutter Service to be transferred by 
the bill, of whom 134 are line officers who would become lieutenant commanders, 
lieutenants, junior lieutenants, and ensigns in the Navy, and 76 engineer officers who- 
would become passed assistant or assistant engineers in the Navy. The plan which, 
has been embodied in the present as well as in previous bills is that these officers 
should continue, during the remainder of their time on the active list, to perform 
service in the revenue cutters, and that as their number is gradually reduced by retire- 
ments, deaths, or other casualties the vacancies so created shall be filled by increasing 
the number of officers of corresponding grades in the Navy. 

Upon mature consideration I am satisfied that no such increase will be required. 

There are at present 717 line officers on the active list of the Navy, of whom only 310> 
are in cruising ships and 33 in Coast Survey and Fish Commission vessels, making 350' 
actually engaged in sea duty. Of the remainder, 250 are engaged upon miscellaneous 
shore duties, 83 in work connected with the construction of the Navy, and 44 are 
unemployed. As the work of reconstruction of the Navy is gradually completed, the 
83 officers now occupied in this work will be set free for other employment. 

As long as the 134 Revenue-Marine line officers, of whom 107 are actually performing: 
sea duty, remain on the active list, they will continue to perform service in the revenue 
cutters. As their numbers gradually diminish the number of officers in the Regular 
Navy available for other duty will gradually increase as the work of reconstruction 
approaches completion. The 83 officers so employed, together with most of those unem- 
ployed, amounting to 120 in all, will be amply sufficient to take the place of the 
Revenue-Marine officers who pass out. Under these circumstances, it is clear that the 
proposed addition to the number of line officers to take the place of the gradually 
diminishing Revenue-Marine Service is absolutely unnecessary. 

In reference to the engineer officers, of whom 76 are at present borne upon the rolls 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service, some slight increase of the naval engineers will be 
ultimately necessary to perform the additional duty, but by no means so large a number 
as now find employment in the Revenue Marine. It appears from the Register of 1891 
that 10 of the revenue cutters had 3 engineer officers each, and 12 others had 2 engineers 
each. According to the ordinary assignment of engineer officers in the Navy to vessels 
of this class, it would be sufficient in each case. I should therefore recommend that no- 
vacancies occurring at the foot of the list of such transferred engineer officers be filled 
until the number of such transferred officers is reduced to 50; and that for every 2 
vacancies occurring thereafter at the foot of the list 1 only should be filled by the 
appointment of an additional engineer officer in the Navy, making the ultimate num- 
ber of such additional officers 25 in all, divided between the grades of passed assistant 
and assistant engineers. 

By such an arrangement the work now performed by 210 Revenue-Marine officers 
would be adequately done by the present force of naval officers with the addition of 
25 junior engineer officers. 

The bill should, therefore, be amended by striking out the provision that the pro- 
motion of the transferred officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service should create vacan- 
cies to be filled by the appointment and promotion of naval officers. This and other 
changes which seem to me advisable in the specific provisions of the bill have been 
embodied in the form of suggested amendments and are appended to the present com- 
munication. 

With the amendments proposed the measure will become, in my opinion, one of the 
highest importance and advantage to both branches of the service, and to the Govern- 
ment at large, in the interests of economy and good administration. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 34 5> 

First, as to economy. As a result of careful calculation (see Appendix A, H. Rept. No. 
76, 51st Cong., 1st sess.), it has been shown that the consolidation of the two services^ 
will result in a saving of $260,430 per annum for general expenses of maintenance. 
The temporary increase of pay to the transferred officers is figured, under a very liberal 
estimate, at 8121,600, leaving as the net annual saving during the first three years 
$138,830. This calculation was made under the supposition that the number of officers 
in the Navy would ultimately be increased by 210 in the grades temporarily occupied 
by transferred officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

But, as has been shown above, the places of the transferred officers will never be 
filled up by new appointments, and, consequently, not only the estimated increase of 
pay, but the pay itself, which is the subject of increase, will be extinguished altogether. 
In the course of from 5 to 10 years the list will so far diminish by the operation of 
natural causes that, making every allowance for the larger rate of compensation, the 
aggregate pay of the officers of the Revenue Marine will show a net decrease. The 
ultimate decrease in expenditure will be as follows: 

Pay of revenue-cutter officers x $362, 700* 

Rations, revenue-cutter officers ! 24, 090' 

Commutation of quarters x 10, 000' 

396, 790 
Less pay and rations of 25 engineer officers (naval pay) 54, 32fr 

342, 465 
Estimated reduction from consolidation 90, 00G 

Net saving from transfer 432, 465 

It is therefore clear, beyond any possibility of dispute, that the proposed consolida "* 
tion will accomplish three things: First, it will make a suitable provision for thf. 
present corps of Revenue-Marine officers; second, it will reduce the expenditures o* 
the Government by $432,465 per annum; third, it will increase from 350 to 450 the 
number of line officers of the Navy doing sea duty and gaining sea experience, who r 
without the consolidation, would, upon the completion of the new Navy, be to a great 
extent unemployed. 

Against these positive and incontrovertible advantages the only serious objection 
that has been urged is that naval officers will be employed in an occupation that is 
foreign to their profession. It seems hardly necessary here to point out the practical 
identity of the two services. The question has been repeatedly discussed, and the- 
facts have nowhere been more clearly stated than in the report of the Treasury Depart- 
ment for 1881, quoted by Secretary Chandler in his annual report for 1883: 

"The Revenue Marine, while charged by law with the performance of important 
duties, is essentially military in its character. Each vessel is provided with great 
guns and furnished with as full a complement of small arms for its crew as any ship of 
war. Its officers are required to be proficient in military drill and possess a thorough 
knowledge of the uses of both great and small arms. Its crews are required to be- 
instructed from day to day at the great guns and in the use of the carbine, pistol, and 
cutlass. Commanding officers are required, while boarding vessels arriving in ports- 
of the United States, in case of the failure or refusal of any such vessel on being hailed 
to come to and submit to the proper inspection by an officer of the service, to fire, first 
across her bows as a warning, and, in case of persistent refusal, to resort to shot or shell 
to compel obedience. In the performance of this work they are likely at any time to- 
receive injuries and to be subjected to the same dangers in time of peace as the force- 
employed on naval vessels. 

"By the act of March 2, 1799, it is provided ' that the revenue cutter shall, whenever 
the President so directs, cooperate with the Navy.' It will be observed that the- 
cooperation of the two services prescribed in the act above quoted is not contingent 
upon a state of war or other particularly perilous conditions. On the contrary, it may 
take place in time of peace, and for specific purposes, and when less hazard is involved 
to the two services than pertains to the discharge by a revenue vessel of its ordinary 
duties. * * * It is difficult to conceive that discrimination could be made by the law 
between the services subjected to equally hazardous and equally important military du- 
ties, both in time of peace and in time of war. * * * Objection to granting pensions 
for the Revenue-Marine officers and seamen has been made on the grounds that such 
action would be extending this bounty to civil employees of the Government, a policy" 
to which our legislative traditions, so to speak, are opposed. But if, in legal theory,. 

1 As stated in Treasury estimates for current year. 



546 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

they are civil employees, are they so in fact? Are they less positively a part of our 
military force in time of war than the Army or Navy? It is true revenue vessels are 
not to be ordered into action of purely military service, offensive or defensive, except 
the President so directs; neither are vessels of the Navy." 

An attempt has been made to show that because it might be improper and inex- 
pedient to employ the Army in the collection of the internal revenue, it would be 
equally improper and inexpedient, upon principles of analogy, to employ the Navy 
on board the revenue cutters. The analogy between these two employments, however, 
is remote and superficial. Both, it is true, are subsidiary to the same general object, 
namely, the prevention of offenses against the revenue, but the conditions of the 
service on shipboard in the open sea and in the waters adjacent to the coast are so 
entirely different from those prevailing on land that in spite of the apparent similarity 
of object no comparison can be drawn between the methods by which the object is 
accomplished. It would be equally logical to say that because it is inexpedient to 
employ the Army in the apprehension of robbers and murderers on land, the Navy 
should be exempted from the duty actually imposed upon it by statute of seizing 
robbers and murderers, otherwise known as pirates, on the high seas. 

The nature of the element upon which the Navy operates expands and broadens 
the scope of its occupation in many cases far beyond that of an ordinary military force. 
It is a common and correct statement of one of the duties of the Navy, not only of this 
but of every other country, to say that "it polices the ocean," although it would be 
neither suitable nor advantageous that the Army should police the land; and it is idle 
to make a comparison between the services of a maritime patrol or coast guard engaged 
in the apprehension of those vessels, whether national or foreign, which are seeking 
ior unlawful purposes to approach the shore from a point outside the territory with 
the occupation of agents employed within the territory to bring to justice the perpe- 
trators of frauds upon the internal revenue. 

The prevention of contraband trade is not foreign to the duties of naval officers. 
It is, in time of war, one of their most constant and important occupations. The 
practice gained in the prevention of contraband trade in the time of peace promotes 
directly the fitness of officers for the prevention of contraband trade in time of war. 
The similarity in the two employments amounts almost to identity. It has been 
^asserted that the occupation of the naval officer is directed exclusively against a 
ioreign enemy, and that with others than enemies he has and should have no concern. 
But it must be remembered that upon those occasions that arise daily in the course of a 
maritime war, when a naval officer is called upon to exercise the right of search or the 
.-apprehension of blockade runners and carriers of contraband, he is coming into collision 
not with enemies but with neutrals. The exercise of the right of search and capture 
comprises the boarding and examination of vessels for contraband goods. 

According to the last report of the Secretary of the Treasury the revenue cutters 
■during the past year have boarded and examined 26,962 vessels. This civil right of 
search for the prevention of contraband trade is exactly analogous to the belligerent 
right of search; also, for the prevention of contraband trade; and the same considera- 
tions would justify placing it in the hands of naval officers that led the Government 
in 1807 to devolve upon the Navy the enforcement of a civil embargo, the counterpart 
•of the belligerent process of blockade. 

But the duties of the Revenue-Cutter Service are not confined to the prevention 
of smuggling. They also include the enforcement of the laws relating to ship- 
ping and navigation, carrying lights, affixing the name and hailing port, etc. A 
large part of their efforts is devoted to the protection and rescue of life and property 
in danger from the perils of the sea. This duty is assumed by the Government in the 
interest of humanity. It is a duty which devolves upon national ships of war as 
much as upon the revenue cutters, although from their situation the occasion for its 
performance arises less frequently. It is a duty requiring severe labor and the high- 
est courage and nerve, qualities in which our naval officers should especially excel and 
which no opportunity should be lost to develop. It is a duty which they should be 
ready and eager to accept whenever the opportunity offers, and it is a duty for which 
by their training and character they are peculiarly fitted. 

The last report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows the close resemblance of the 
duties of the Revenue Marine and of the Navy. He says: 

"Thirty-six vessels in commission during the year have cruised for the protection 
of the revenue a distance of 301,416 nautical miles, and have boarded and examined 
.26,962 vessels. In addition, 123 distressed vessels were assisted, the value of the 
vessels and their cargoes amounting to $2,806,056. Material aid has been rendered 
•during the year to the Life-Saving Service, a distance of 9,915 miles having been 
eruised by revenue cutters on this duty alone." 

There is other work devolved by the law upon the Revenue Marine in common 
-with the Navy. The apprehension of pirates is no longer as active an occupation as 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 34T 

formerly, but there are other maritime offenders whose acts are akin to piracy, against 
whom both services are alike called upon to act. Such are the vessels offending 
against the neutrality laws of the United States, which are seized and brought in 
either by a revenue cutter or by a ship of war, whichever is most available at the 
moment. Such also is the apprehension of seal poachers, and it is a significant fact, 
and a conclusive answer to the assertion that the duties of the two services are opposed 
that ..so recently as last summer, when the Government was called upon to maintain 
the modus vivendi in Bering Sea, the duty was performed by four naval vessels and 
three revenue cutters acting in concert and under instructions identical in language, 
issued, respectively, by the Navy and by the Treasury Departments. 

To quote again from the last report of the Secretary of the Treasury: 

"The work of the Revenue-Cutter Service during the past year has been one of 
marked activity. The duty performed has been both varied and general. It embraced 
operations of more than ordinary importance in Bering Sea, in connection with the 
eastern fisheries, on the Bahama banks, the Florida coast, and in Puget Sound. Many 
of these operations dealt with issues of an international nature and required through- 
out a nicety of judgment on the part of those engaged." 

It is difficult to see in what respect the officers of the Navy would fail to perform 
efficiently the duties of the Revenue-Cutter Service as outlined above. That a 
graduate of the Naval Academy will be as well fitted for the work as a newly appointed 
Revenue-Marine officer, and that he will acquire as readily whatever special knowledge 
is needed for cruising on the coast, boarding incoming vessels, assisting ships in dis- 
tress, arresting seal poachers, and reporting violations of the shipping laws must be 
admitted. If not, the system of education pursued at the Naval Academy is a failure 
and the academy had better be abolished. 

It is not claimed that naval officers should collect the customs revenue. That is 
not the duty of the Revenue Marine. But it is claimed that for every legitimate duty 
of the Cutter Service they are as well fitted as officers chosen for that service by the 
present method ; and no greater difficulty would be experienced in detailing them for 
service under the Treasury Department than is experienced in the case of the 62 
naval officers detailed for service under that department, at the present time, in the 
Coast Survey and the Lighthouse Establishment. 

In addition to the benefit derived from a clear reduction in expenditure of $432,465 
per annum, a great advantage would be obtained in the increased efficiency of the 
Navy itself. At the present time our ships, which are by no means underofficered r 
provide employment for only 350 line officers out of 717. Of these officers few have 
the opportunity, and these only to a limited extent, to become intimately familiar 
with the navigation of their own coast. 

The size of the naval vessels, their small number, and the necessities of foreign: 
service contribute to restrict this experience within narrow limits. Yet the expe- 
rience is one of the most important elements in the training of officers. When war 
comes it will be carried on largely on our own coast. The defense of the coast, either 
by small or large vessels, will call for exact and familiar knowledge of its configuration, 
of the entrances to harbors, and of the shoal waters that line every part of our shores. 
The success of our operations will depend largely upon the superior knowledge pos- 
sessed by our own officers in this respect over those of the enemy. So important is 
this branch of experience regarded in foreign navies that in some States, as for example, 
France, schools of pilotage are established having in view this object alone. No- 
school of pilotage, however complete its organization, could compare in effectiveness 
with service on board our revenue cutters. 

Finally, I would refer to the importance of utilizing the revenue cutters as an 
additional source of defensive strength to this country in time of necessity. The list 
of vessels belonging to the Revenue-Marine Service comprises a fleet of 38 boats of 
various sizes and character. At present this large fleet of small vessels is constructed 
without any reference to the necessities of modern warfare . Had they been designed in 
the past as they should be in the future, under naval direction, they might, without 
additional expense, have formed a most important adjunct to our naval defense. 
They would be none the less serviceable as cutters, because they would have this 
additional usefulness for purposes of war. 

It is a necessary consequence of the character of the naval service that many ships 
may at any given time be absent from the country. The cutters, from the nature of 
their duties, would be always on the coast and always ready for service. To construct 
these vessels without reference to the demands of the naval service is to reject a 
powerful naval defense and to forego all the advantages to be derived in time of 
emergency from the possession of a reserve fleet of small vessels representing an invest- 
ment of between one and two millions of dollars. 



.348 REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

In support of this view I beg to refer the committee to the following significant 
passage in the last report of the Secretary of the Treasury. He says: 

' ' There is immediate and urgent need for two able cruising steamers for the Pacific 
coast, and two for Lakes Michigan and Ontario, respectively. To meet any sudden 
contingency these vessels should possess features and characteristics enabling them to 
meet demands other than those for assistance for distressed vessels and the enforce- 
ment of the customs revenue laws." 

If, as would seem to be indicated by this passage, the revenue is in process of con- 
version into a fleet of vessels possessing features ' 'enabling them to meet demands 
other than those for assistance to distressed vessels and the enforcement of the customs 
revenue laws," which can refer to nothing else than the creation of a naval force, it 
would appear that the consolidation of the two services has become inevitable, under 
either the Treasury or the Navy Department, unless Congress is willing to maintain, in 
their full development, as it is already doing in part, two separate navies, performing 
largely the same functions, under separate departments of administration. 
Very respectfully, 

B. F. Tracy, 
Secretary of the Navy. 
Hon. Eugene Hale, 

Chairman Subcommittee of Committee on Naval Affairs, 

United States Senate. 

A bill (S. 67) providing for the transfer was introduced in the Senate 
iind was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs. This com- 
mittee made a very thorough investigation of the subject and pre- 
pared a report reciting the history of previous efforts and reproduc- 
ing the more important documents bearing on the matter. This 
report was strongly in favor of the bill providing that the transfer 
should be made. The essential part of the report in which the con- 
clusions of the committee are stated is as follows : 

The question whether the Revenue Marine is civil or military, or whether it is more 
■civil than military, is to be found fully considered in the documents to which reference 
has been made. There can be little doubt that in form and substance all the ships, 
with their appurtenances and their officers and men, are military in all their substan- 
tial characteristics and that their duties are in the main as essentially military as those 
performed off and along our own coasts by the vessels of the Navy. The 24 armed 
;revenue cutters which cruise outside our harbors could, under the present modern 
methods of commerce, be entirely dispensed with without seriously affecting the col- 
lection of the revenues of the Government or materially impairing any function 
necessary to the conduct of the legitimate business of the Treasury. * * * 

Upon a deliberate review of the whole subject the committee can not avoid the con-, 
elusion that the public interests, according to modern conditions affecting both the 
work which has been performed by the Revenue Marine and that of the Navy, require 
the present union on just terms of the two services. We are confronted with the 
existence of two American navies, one the larger or principal Navy with 269 guns,. 
74 ships, 1,316 officers, 8,188 seamen; the other the smaller, or Treasury navy, com- 
prising 62 guns, 34 ships, 220 officers, and 811 seamen. These two navies are essen^, 
tially alike and completely military in their material characteristics; and, so far as 
our own 5,700 miles of continental coast line and the 4,700 miles of Alaskan waters are 
concerned, they are both engaged in time of peace in similar duties, and each would; 
be engaged in the same duties as the other in time of war. 

It is time that this anomaly should end and that both the American navies should, 
for the purposes of construction, organization, and discipline, be placed under the 
control and direction of one departmental head, and that should be the military one; 
of the Secretary of the Navy. 

For certain duties and as occasion may arise, the ships and officers and men of the 
Navy will be detailed by the Navy Department, as they now are, for service according; 
to the needs and direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, and 
the Secretary of State. * * * 

The committee believes that in recommending the transfer from this huge and 
•overburdened Treasury Department of the supervision of its naval ships, guns, officers, 
and seamen, the real efficiency of that department in the performance of its legitimate 
and indispensable work will not be injured, but indeed will be largely increased. 

In time of peace the Secretary of the Navy can devote more personal attention to 
promoting the efficiency of the vessels of the Revenue Marine than can be given by 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 349 

the Secretary of the Treasury. In time of war, necessarily and immediately, the 
•command of the outside cruising revenue cutters passes at once to the Secretary of 
the Navy. He should, therefore, in time of peace retain the control of the construc- 
tion and preservation of such vessels and of the organization and discipline of their 
•officers and seamen. 

The subject of the transfer of the revenue cutters to the Navy Department has been 
under recent discussion for about 10 years. The facts and arguments are fully before 
the public. The delay in reaching a decision is exceedingly detrimental to the 
national interests, and the question should receive an early and decisive settlement 
■at the present session of Congress. 

In spite of the fact that opinion seemed to be so strongly in favor 
of the consolidation of the two services both inside and outside of 
the Halls of Congress, success was not obtained in securing legisla- 
tion looking to this end. Since this date, 1892, or during the last 
20 years, it does not appear that the proposal for the union of the 
services has been revived, or if revived has not been pushed with 
any great energy. 



Exhibit No. 3 B. 

Compilation of the Laws Relating to the Revenue-Cutter 

Service. 

revised statutes. 

Sec. 2747. The President may, for the better securing the col- 
lection of import or tonnage duties, cause to be maintained so many 
of the revenue cutters as may be necessary to be employed for the 
protection of the revenue, the expense whereof shall be paid out of 
such sum as shall be annually appropriated for the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, and not otherwise. 

Sec. 2748. The President may from time to time cause such of the 
revenue cutters as have become unfit for further service to be sold, 
and the proceeds shall be paid into the Treasury: Provided, That the 
Secretary of the Treasury may apply, in the purchase or construction 
•of revenue cutters, any unexpended balance of the proceeds of revenue 
-cutters sold by him under the authority of section two of the act of 
April twentieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, chapter sixty- three. 

Sec. 2749. The officers for each revenue vessel shall be one captain 
and one first, one second, and one third lieutenant, and for each 
steam vessel, in addition, one engineer, and one assistant engineer; 
but the Secretary of the Treasury may assign to any vessel a greater 
number of officers whenever, in his opinion, the nature of the service 
which she is directed to perform requires it. And vessels of both 
descriptions shall have such number of petty officers and men as in 
the opinion of the Secretary are required to make them efficient for 
their service. 

Sec. 2750. The grades of engineers shall be chief engineer and first 
and second assistant engineer, with the pay and relative rank of first, 
second, and third lieutenant, respectively. 

Sec. 2751. The commissioned officers of the Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate. 

Sec. 2752. No person shall be appointed to the office of captain, 
first, second, or third lieutenant of any revenue cutter who does not 



350 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

adduce competent proof of proficiency and skill in navigation and 
seamanship. 

Sec 2753. The compensation of the officers of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service shall be at the following rates while on duty: 

Captains, two thousand five hundred dollars a year each. 

First lieutenants and chief engineers, one thousand eight hundred 
dollars a year each. 

Second lieutenants and first assistant engineers, one thousand five 
hundred dollars a year each. 

Third lieutenants and second assistant engineers, one thousand two 
hundred dollars a year each. 

And at the following rates while on leave of absence or while waiting 
orders : 

Captains, one thousand eight hundred dollars a year each. 

First lieutenants and chief engineers, one thousand five hundred 
dollars a year each. 

Second lieutenants and first assistant engineers, one thousand two 
hundred dollars a year each. 

Third lieutenants and second assistant engineers, nine hundred 
dollars a year each. 

Sec 2754. The wages of petty officers and seamen of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service shall not exceed the average wages paid for like serv- 
ices on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, respectively, in the merchant 
service. 

Sec 2755. Each officer of the Revenue-Cutter Service while on 
duty shall be entitled to one Navy ration per day. 

Sec 2756. The Secretary of the Treasury may cause contracts to 
be made for the supply of rations for the officers and men of the rev- 
enue cutters. 

Sec 2757. The revenue cutters shall, whenever the President so 
directs, cooperate with the Navy, during which time they shall be 
under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, and the expenses 
thereof shall be defrayed by the Navy Department. 

Sec 2758. The Secretary of the Treasury may direct the perform- 
ance of any service by the revenue vessels which, in his judgment, is 
necessary for the protection of the revenue. 

Sec 2759. The revenue cutters on the northern and northwestern 
lakes, when put in commission, shall be specially charged with aiding 
vessels in distress on the lakes. 

Sec 2760. The officers of the revenue cutters shall respectively be 
deemed officers of the customs, and shall be subject to the direction 
of such collectors of the revenue or other officers thereof, as from time 
to time shall be designated for that purpose. They shall go on board 
all vessels which arrive within the United States or within four leagues 
of the coast thereof, if bound for the United States, and search and 
examine the same, and every part thereof, and shall demand, receive, 
and certify the manifests required to be on board certain vessels, 
shall affix and put proper fastenings on the hatches and other commu- 
nications with the hold of any vessel, and shall remain on board such 
vessels until they arrive at the port or place of their destination. 

Sec 2761. The master of any revenue cutter shall make a weekly 
return to the collector, or other officer of the district under whose 
direction it is placed, of the transactions of the cutter, specifying the 
vessels that have been boarded, their names and descriptions, the 



HEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 351 

names of the masters, from what port or place they last sailed, whether 
laden or in ballast, to what nation belonging, and whether they have 
the necessary manifests of then cargoes on board, and generally all 
such matters as it may be necessary for the officers of the customs to 
know. 

Sec 2762. The officers of revenue cutters shall perform, in addi- 
tion to the duties hereinbefore prescribed, such other duties for the 
collection and security of the revenue as from time to time shall be 
directed by the Secretary of the Treasury not contrary to law. 

Sec 2763. The collector of each district may, with the approval of 
the Secretary of the Treasury, provide and employ such small open 
row and sail boats and persons to serve in them as shall be necessary 
for the use of the surveyors and inspectors in going on board of vessels 
and otherwise, for the better detection of frauds. 

Sec 2764. The cutters and boats employed in the service of the 
revenue shall be distinguished from other vessels by an ensign and 
pendant, with such marks thereon as shall be prescribed by the Presi- 
dent. If any vessel or boat, not employed in the service of the reve- 
nue, shall, within the jurisdiction of the United States, cany or 
hoist any pendant or ensign prescribed for vessels in such service, the 
master of the vessel so offending shall be liable to a penalty of one 
hundred dollars. 

Sec 2765. Whenever any vessel liable to seizure or examination 
does not bring to, on being required to do so, or on being chased by 
any cutter or boat which has displayed the pendant and ensign pre- 
scribed for vessels in the revenue service, the master of such cutter or 
boat may fire at or into such vessel which does not bring to, after such 
pendant and ensign has been hoisted, and a gun has been fired by such 
cutter or boat as a signal; and such master, and all persons acting by 
or under his direction, shall be indemnified from an}' penalties or 
actions for damages for so doing. If any person is killed or wounded 
by such firing, and the master is prosecuted or arrested therefor, he 
shall be forthwith admitted to bail. 

Sec 1492. The officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service, when serv- 
ing in accordance with law, as a part of the Navy, shall be entitled to 
relative rank, as follows: Captains, with and next after lieutenants 
commanding in the Navy; first lieutenants, with and next after lieu- 
tenants in the Navy; second lieutenants, with and next after masters 
in line in the Navy; third lieutenants, with and next after ensigns in 
the Navy. 

Sec 2835. Vessels bound up James River, in the State of Virginia, 
shall not be required to stop in Hampton Roads to deposit a manifest 
with the collector at Norfolk. But the master of the revenue cutter 
stationed at Norfolk shall, under the orders of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, board aU such vessels, and indorse their manifests, and 
place an officer on board of each vessel bound up James River, having 
a cargo from a foreign port. If, however, there is no revenue cutter 
on that station for the purpose of boarding vessels, or when the state 
of the weather may be such as to render it impracticable to send an 
officer on board any vessel bound up James River, having a cargo 
from a foreign port, the captain shall deposit, with the surveyor at 
Hampton, a copy of the manifest of the cargo on board such vessel. 

Sec 3059. It shall be lawful for any officer of the customs, includ- 
ing inspectors and occasional inspectors, or of a revenue cutter, or 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 23 



352 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

authorized agent of the Treasury Department, or other persons 
specially appointed for the purpose in writing by a collector, naval 
officer, or surveyor, to go on board of any vessel, as well without as 
within Ins district, and to inspect, search, and examine the same, 
and any person, trunk, or envelope on board, and to this end to hail 
and stop such vessel if under way, and to use all necessary force to 
compel compliance; and if it shall appear that any breach or viola- 
tion of the laws of the United States has been committed whereby or 
in consequence of which such vessel, or the merchandise, or any part 
thereof, on board of or imported by such vessel, is liable to forfeiture 
to make seizure of the same, or either or any part thereof, and to 
arrest or in case of escape, or any attempt to escape, to pursue and 
arrest any person engaged in such breach or violation. 

Sec 3061. Any of the officers or persons authorized to board or 
search vessels may stop, search, and examine, as well without as 
within their respective districts, any vehicle, beast, or person, on 
which or whom he or they shall suspect there is merchandise which is 
subject to duty, or shall have been introduced into the United States 
in any manner contrary to law, whether by the person in possession 
or charge, or by, in, or upon such vehicle or beast, or otherwise, and 
to search any trunk or envelope, wherever found, in which he may 
have a reasonable cause to suspect there is merchandise which was 
imported contrary to law; and if any such officer or other person so 
authorized shall find any merchandise on or about any such vehicle, 
beast, or person, or in any such trunk or envelope, which he shall 
have reasonable cause to believe is subject to duty, or to have been 
unlawfully introduced into the United States, whether by the per- 
son in possession or charge, or by, in, or upon such vehicle, beast, or 
otherwise, he shall seize and secure the same for trial. 

Sec 3067. It shall be lawful for all collectors, naval officers, sur- 
veyors, inspectors, and the officers of the revenue cutters to go on 
board of vessels in any port of the United States, or within four 
leagues of the coast thereof, if bound to the United States, whether 
in or out of their respective districts, for the purposes of demanding 
the manifests, and of examining and searching the vessels; and 
those officers, respectively, shall have free access to the cabin and 
every other part of a vessel. 

Sec 3068. If any master of the vessel coming into or having 
arrived at any port within the United States shall obstruct or hinder, 
or shall intentionally cause any obstruction or hindrance to any 
officer in lawfully going on board such vessel for the purpose of 
carrying into effect any of the revenue laws of the United States, he 
shall for every such offense be liable to a penalty of not more than 
five hundred dollars nor less than fifty dollars. 

Sec 5447. Every person who forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, 
prevents, impedes, or interferes with any officer of the customs, or 
his deputy, or any person assisting him in the execution of his duty, 
or any person authorized to make searches or seizures in the execu- 
tion of his duty, or who rescues or attempts to rescue or causes to 
be rescued any property which has been seized by any person so 
authorized, or who before, at, or after such seizure, in order to pre- 
vent the seizure or securing of any goods, wares, or merchandise by 
any person so authorized, staves, breaks, throws overboard, destroys, 
or removes the same shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 353 

nor more than two thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not less than 
one month nor more than one year, or both; and every person who 
discharges any deadly weapon at any person authorized to make 
searches or seizures, or uses any deadly or dangerous weapon in 
resisting him in the execution of his duty, with intent to commit a 
bodily injury upon him or to deter or prevent him from discharging 
his duty, shall be imprisoned at hard labor for a term not more than 
ten years or less than one year. 

Sec 5448. Every person who falsely represents himself to be a 
revenue officer and, in such assumed character, demands or receives 
any money or other article of value from any person for any duty 
or tax due to the United States, or for any violation or pretended 
violation of any revenue law of the United States, shall be deemed 
guilty of a felony and shall be fined five hundred dollars and impris- 
oned not less than six months and not more than two years. 

Sec. 2638. No person employed under the authority of the United 
States, in the collection of duties on imports or tonnage, shall own, 
either in whole or in part, any vessel, or act as agent, attorney, or 
consignee for the owner or owners of any vessel, or of any cargo or 
lading on board the same; nor shall any such person import, or be 
be concerned directly or indirectly in the importation of, anv mer- 
chandise for sale into the United States. Every person who violates 
this section shall be liable to a penalty of five hundred dollars. 

Sec. 3618. All proceeds of sales of old material, condemned stores, 
supplies, or other public property of any kind, except the proceeds 
of the sale or leasing of marme hospitals, or of the sales of revenue 
cutters, or of the sales of commissary stores to the officers and en- 
listed men of the Army, or of the sale of condemned Navy clothing, 
or of sales of materials, stores, or supplies to any exploring or survey- 
ing expedition authorized by law, shall be deposited and covered 
into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts on account of "proceeds 
of Government property," and shall not be withdrawn or applied 
except in consequence of a subsequent appropriation made by law. 

Sec. 3692. All moneys received from the leasing or sale of marine 
hospitals, or the sale of revenue cutters, or from the sale of commis- 
sary stores to the officers and enlisted men of the Army, or from sales 
of condemned clothing of the Navy, or from sales of materials, stores, 
or supplies to any exploring or surveying expedition authorized by 
law, shall, respectively, revert to that appropriation out of which 
they were originally expended, and shall be applied to the purposes for 
which they are appropriated by law. 

Sec. 4249. The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide for the 
establishment of ten life-saving stations on the coasts of Maine, New 
Hampshire and Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina, at such 
points as he may deem necessary, for the saving of life and property 
on said coasts: Provided, That all life-saving stations hereafter erected 
shall be erected under the supervision of two captains of the Revenue 
Service, to be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and to 
be under his direction. 

Sec. 4741. The officers and seamen of the revenue cutters of the 
United States, who have been or may be wounded or disabled in the 
discharge of their duty while cooperating with the Navy by order of 
the President, shall be entitled to be placed on the Navy pension list 



354 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

at the same rate of pension and under the same regulations and re- 
strictions as are provided by law for the officers and seamen of the 
Navy. 

Sec. 4792. The quarantines and other restraints established by the 
health laws of any State, respecting any vessels arriving in or bound 
to any port or district thereof, shall be duly observed by the officers of 
the customs revenue of the United States, by the masters and crews 
of the several revenue cutters, and by the military officers command- 
ing in any fort or station upon the seacoast; and all such officers of the 
United States shall faithfully aid in the execution of such quarantines 
and health laws according to their respective powers and within their 
respective precincts, and as they shall be directed from time to time 
by the Secretary of the Treasury. But nothing in this title shall 
enable any State to collect a duty of tonnage or impost without the 
consent of Congress. 

Sec 5318. In the execution of laws providing for the collection of 
duties on imports and tonnage, the President, in addition to the 
revenue cutters in service, may employ in aid thereof such other 
suitable vessels as may, in his judgment, be required. 

LAWS SUBSEQUENT TO REVISED STATUTES. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other 
purposes. Approved July 31, 1876. 

* * * Hereafter upon the occurring of a vacancy in the grade of 
third lieutenant in the Revenue-Marine Service, the Secretary of the 
Treasury may appoint a cadet, not less than eighteen nor more than 
twenty-five years of age, with rank next below that of third lieutenant, 
whose pay shall be three-fourths that of a third lieutenant, and who 
shall not be appointed to a higher grade until he shall have served a 
satisfactory probationary term of two years and passed the examina- 
tion required by the regulations of said service; and upon the pro- 
motion of such cadet another may be appointed in his stead ; but the 
whole number of third lieutenants and cadets shall at no time exceed 
the number of third lieutenants now authorized bylaw. (19 Stat. L., 
107.) 

AN ACT To organize the Life-Saving Service. Approved June 18, 1878. 

Sec 8. That the Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer 
or officers of the Revenue-Marine Service as may be necessary, to act 
as inspector and assistant inspectors of stations, who shall perform 
such duties in connection with the conduct of the service as may be 
required of them by the general superintendent. (20 Stat. L., 164.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for 
other purposes. Approved June 20, 1878. 

* * * To enable the Secretary of the Treasury to use and main- 
tain a revenue steamer or steamers for the enforcement of the pro- 
visions of law and protection of the interests of the Government on 
the seal islands and sea-otter hunting grounds, and of Alaska gen- 
erally, twenty-five thousand dollars: Provided, That when said rev- 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 355 

enue vessel or vessels are sent' the United States mails shall be car- 
ried therein. (20 Stat. L., 212.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other 
purposes. Approved July 7, 1884. 

* * * And hereafter revenue cutters shall be used exclusively 
for the public service, and in no way for private purposes. (23 Stat. 
L., 199.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and for other 
purposes. Approved March 3, 1885. 

Propagation of food fishes: For the introduction by the United 
States Fish Commission into and the increase in the waters of the 
United States of food fishes and other useful products of the waters, 
including lobsters, oysters, and other shellfish, and for continuing 
the inquiry into the fisheries of the United States and their subjects, 
and for such general and miscellaneous expenditures as the Com- 
missioner of Fish and Fisheries may find necessary to the prosecu- 
tion of his work, including salaries or compensation of all necessary 
employees, one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. And the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury is authorized to detail from time to time for 
duty under the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries any officers and 
men of the Revenue-Marine Service whose services can be spared for 
such duty. (23 Stat. L., 494.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
ninety, and for other purposes. Approved February 26, 1889. 

And hereafter nothing in section four of the act approved August 
fifth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, entitled "An act making 
appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-three, and for other purposes," shall be construed 
to prevent the Secretary of the Treasury from detailing not exceed- 
ing two officers of the Revenue-Marine Service for duty in the office 
of the Life-Saving Service. (25 Stat. L., 719.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, and for other purT 
poses. Approved March 2. 1889. 

* * * Yot the establishment and maintenance (by the Revenue- 
Cutter Service) of a refuge station at or near Point Barrow, Alaska, 
on the Arctic Ocean, fifteen thousand dollars. (25 Stat. L., 945.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and for other 
purposes. Approved March 3, 1893. 

* * * That collectors of customs or their special deputies shall 
be competent to administer the oaths to officers of the Revenue- 
Marine Service required under section seventeen hundred and ninety 
and twenty-six hundred and ninety-three, Revised Statutes. (27 
Stat. L., 577.) 



356 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

AN ACT Making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-five, and for other purposes. Approved July 31, 1894. 

*• * * That the Secretary of the Treasury shall detail a captain 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service, who shall be chief of the division of 
Revenue-Cutter Service, and a chief engineer, who shall be engineer 
in chief of said service, but no additional pay or emoluments shall 
be allowed on account of such detail. (28 Stat. L., 171.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and for other 
purposes. August 18, 1894. 

* * * That on and after the passage of this act the pay of cadets 
in the Revenue-Cutter Service shall be five hundred dollars per 
annum and one ration per day, in lieu of the rates at present author- 
ized by law, chapter two hundred and forty-six, paragraph four, 
act July thirty-first, eighteen hundred and seventy-six. (28 Stat. L., 
378.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and for other 
purposes. Approved March 2, 1895. 

* * * That the President of the United States is hereby author- 
ized to convene a board, to be composed of three surgeons of the 
Marine-Hospital Service, to examine and report upon all officers now 
in the Revenue-Cutter Service who, through no vicious habits of their 
own, are now incapacitated by reason of the infirmities of age or 
physical or mental disability to efficiently perform the duties of their 
respective offices. And such officers as, under the terms of this act, 
may be reported by said board to be so permanently incapacitated 
shall be placed on waiting orders out of the line of promotion, with 
one-half active duty pay, and the vacancies thereby created in the 
active list of the officers shall be filled by promotion in the order of 
seniority, as now provided by law: Provided, however, That no such 
promotion shall be made until the professional qualifications of the 
candidates shall have been determined by written examination before 
a board of officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service convened by the 
Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose. (28 Stat. L., 920.) 

AN ACT Relating to the anchorage and movements of vessels in Saint Marys River. 

March 6, 1896. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to adopt and 
prescribe suitable rules and regulations governing the movements 
and anchorage of vessels and rafts in Saint Marys River, from Point 
Iroquois, on Lake Superior, to Point Detour, on Lake Huron, and 
for the purpose of enforcing the observance of such regulations the 
said Secretary is hereby authorized to detail one or more revenue 
cutters for duty on said river. 

Sec. 2. That all officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service who are 
directed to enforce the regulations prescribed by the above rules are 
hereby empowered and directed, in case of necessity, or when a proper 
notice has been disregarded, to use the force at their command to 



KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 357 

remove from channels or stop any vessel found violating the pre- 
scribed rules. 

Sec 3. That in the event of the violation of any such regulations 
or rules of the Secretary of the Treasury by the owners, master, or 
person in charge of such vessel, such owners, master, or person in 
charge shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred dollars, and the 
vessel, its tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, at any time used or 
employed in violation of such regulations, shall be forfeited to the 
United States: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury may 
remit said fine or release said vessel on such terms as he may prescribe : 
Provided also, That nothing in this act shall be construed to amend 
or repeal the act entitled "An act to regulate navigation on the Great 
Lakes and connecting tributary waters as far east as Montreal." (29 
Stat. L., 54.) 

AN ACT To provide for the safety of passengers on excursion ste'amers. May 19, 1896. 

Be it enacted oy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to provide for 
the safety of passengers on excursion steamers, yachts, oarsmen, and 
all craft, whether as observers or participants, taking part in regattas, 
amateur or professional, that may hereafter be held on navigable 
waters, the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized 
and empowered in his discretion to detail revenue cutters to enforce 
such rules and regulations as may be adopted to insure the safety of 
passengers on said excursion steamers, yachts, oarsmen, and all craft, 
whether as observers or participants, taking part in such regattas. 
(29 Stat. L., 122.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses 
of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, and for other purposes. May 28, 1896. 

* * * That the chief engineer of the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
detailed as engineer in chief of said service, under the provisions of 
the legislative appropriation act of July thirty-first, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-four, shall hereafter receive the duty pay and have the 
relative rank of a captain of the Revenue-Cutter Service. (29 Stat. 
L., 149.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and for 
other purposes. June 11, 1896. 

That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized 
to permit officers and others of the Revenue-Cutter Service to make 
allotments from their pay, under such regulations as he may prescribe, 
for the support of their families or relatives, for their own savings, or 
for other proper purposes, during such time as they may be absent at 
sea, on distant duty, or under other circumstances warranting such 
action. (29 Stat. L., 421.) 

AN ACT To adopt regulations for preventing collisions upon certain harbors, rivers, 
and inland waters of the United States. June 7, 1897. 

Art. 30. The exhibition of any light on board of a vessel of war of 
the United States or a revenue cutter may be suspended whenever, 



358 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

in the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy, the commander in chief 
of a squadron or the commander of a vessel acting singly, the special 
character of the service may require it. (30 Stat. L., 102.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and for 
other purposes. June 4, 1897. 

* * * That any chief engineer of the He venue-Cutter Service 
who has held the office of engineer in chief shall hereafter receive the 
pay and emoluments of a captain of said service and shall be eligible 
for appointment to the office of captain of engineers in said service, 
with the pay and emoluments of such captain. (30 Stat. L., 17.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and for other 
purposes. Approved July 1, 1898. 

* * * That the President be, and is hereby, authorized to ap- 
point, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one construc- 
tor in and for the Revenue-Cutter Service, who shall have the relative 
rank and pay of a first lieutenant in said service, as prescribed in 
section twenty-seven hundred and fifty-three, Revised Statutes: 
Provided further , That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to 
purchase from the appropriation for the maintenance of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service uniform clothing for the enlisted men of said service, 
the same to be sold to the crews of vessels in service: Provided, That 
the actual cost of the clothing thus sold to enlisted persons shall be 
withheld from their pay and repaid to said appropriation. (30 Stat. 
L., 604.) 

AN ACT To promote the efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. April 12, 1902. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That on and after the passage 
of this act the commissioned officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
shall be as follows: Captains, first lieutenants, second lieutenants, 
third lieutenants, captain of engineers, chief engineers, first assistant 
engineers, second assistant engineers, and constructor; and the 
captain of engineers, chief engineers, first assistant engineers, second 
assistant engineers shall have the rank of captain, first, second, and 
third lieutenants, respectively; and the constructor shall have the 
rank of first lieutenant : Provided, however, There shall be no increase 
in the number of officers upon the active list over the present number 
in each class or grade. 

Sec. 2. That the said commissioned officers shall rank as follows: 
Captains with majors in the Army and lieutenant commanders in the 
Navy; first lieutenants with captains in the Army and lieutenants in 
the Navy; second lieutenants with first lieutenants in the Army and 
lieutenants (junior grade) in the Navy; third lieutenants with second 
lieutenants in the Army and ensigns in the Navy: Provided, That 
whenever forces of the Navy and Revenue-Cutter Service shall be 
serving in cooperation pursuant to law (section twenty-seven hundred 
and fifty-seven, Revised Statutes), the officers of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service shall rank as follows : Captains with and next after lieutenant 
commanders in the Navy; first lieutenants with and next after 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 359 

lieutenants in the Navy; second lieutenants with and next after 
lieutenants (junior grade) in the Navy; third lieutenants with and 
next after ensigns in the Navy: Provided further , That no provision 
of this act shall be construed as giving any officer of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service military or other control at any time over any vessel, 
officer, or man of the naval service. Nor shall any naval officer exer- 
cise such military or other control over any vessel, officer, or man of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service, except by direction of the President. 

Sec 3. That the commissioned officers of the United States 
Revenue-Cutter Service shall hereafter receive the same pay and 
allowances, except forage, as are now or may hereafter be provided 
by law for officers of corresponding rank in the Army, including 
longevity pay. 

Sec 4. That when any officer in the Revenue-Cutter Service has 
reached the age of sixty-four years he shall be retired by the Presi- 
dent from active service; and when any officer has become incapable 
of performing the duties of his office he shall be either placed upon 
the retired waiting-orders list or dropped from the service by the 
President, as hereinafter provided. 

Sec 5. That the Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction of 
the President, shall from time to time assemble a Revenue-Cutter 
Service retiring board, composed of officers of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service and medical officers of the Marine-Hospital Service, consisting 
of not less than five commissioned officers, two-fifths of whom shall 
be selected from medical officers of the Marine-Hospital Service, for 
the purpose of examining and reporting on such officers of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service as may be ordered by the Secretary of the 
Treasury to appear before it; and the members of said board shall 
be sworn, in every case, to discharge their duties honestly and 
impartially, the oath to be administered to the members by the 
president of the board, and to him by the junior member or recorder; 
and such board shall inquire into and determine the facts touching 
the nature and occasion of the disability of any officer who appears 
to be incapable of performing the duties of his office, and shall have 
such powers as may be necessary for that purpose; and when the 
board finds an officer incapacitated for active service it shall also 
find and report the cause which in its judgment has produced his 
incapacity, whether such cause is an incident of service, whether due 
to his own vicious habits, or the infirmities of age, or physical or 
mental disability. The proceedings and decisions of the board shall 
be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, and shall by him 
be laid before the President for his approval or disapproval and his 
orders in the case. 

Sec 6. That when a board finds that an officer is incapacitated for 
active service, and that his incapacity is the result of an incident of 
service, or is due to the infirmities of age, or physical or mental dis- 
ability, and not his own vicious habits, and such decision is approved 
by the President, he shall be retired from active service and placed 
upon a retired waiting-orders list. Officers thus retired may be 
assigned to such duties as they may be able to perform, in the dis- 
cretion of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sec 7. That when a board finds that an officer is incapacitated 
for active service, and that such incapacity is the result of his own 
vicious habits and not due to any incident of service, and its decision 



360 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

shall be approved by the President, the officer shall be dropped from 
the service. 

Sec. 8. That when any commissioned officer is retired from active 
service, the next officer in rank shall be promoted according to the 
established rules of the service, and the same rule of promotion shall 
be applied successively to the vacancies consequent upon such retire- 
ment: Provided, That all promotions shall be subject to examination 
to determine the professional qualifications of the candidates, and 
such examination shall be wholly written before a board of officers' 
of the Revenue-Cutter Service, and their physical qualifications shall 
be reported upon by a board of medical officers of the Marine-Hospital 
Service, and such board shall be convened by the Secretary of the 
Treasury whenever the exigencies of the service require. 

Sec 9. That all officers borne upon the retired or permanent 
waiting-orders list at the date of the passage of this act, or hereafter, 
shall receive seventy-five per centum of the duty pay, salary, and 
increase of the rank upon which they have been or may be retired: 
Provided, That no longevity increase of pay shall be allowed for any 
length of service accruing after retirement. 

Sec 10. That all laws or parts of laws inconsistent or in conflict 
with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 
(32 Stat. L., 100.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations to supply urgent deficiencies in the appropriations 
for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and six, and for other 
purposes. Approved February 27, 1906. 

* * * To supply a deficiency in the appropriation for expenses 
of Revenue-Cutter Service for the fiscal year ended June thirtieth, 
nineteen hundred and four, one thousand two hundred and seventy- 
seven dollars and fifty-two cents: Provided, That the office of cap- 
tain of engineers in the Revenue-Cutter Service of the United States 
is hereby abolished from the date of the death of the late incumbent, 
and that on and after the passage of this act the President may 
select and appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
a chief engineer of said service, who has served not less than three 
years in that grade, as engineer in chief of the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
for a period of four years, and no longer, unless reappointed or 
sooner retired by reason of age or disability: And provided further, 
That the engineer in chief thus appointed shall thereafter receive the 
rank, pay, and allowances, while holding said appointment, that are 
now or may hereafter be prescribed for a captain of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, but nothing herein shall operate to increase the num- 
ber of chief engineers now in the Revenue-Cutter Service. (34 Stat. 
L., 30.) 

AN ACT To amend the act approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, 
relating to the anchorage and movements of vessels in Saint Marys River. April 
26, 1906. (Public No. 127.) 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That section one of the act 
approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, entitled 
"An act relating to the anchorage and movements of vessels in Saint 
Marys River," be, and hereby is, amended to read as follows: 

"That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor be, and he hereby is, 
authorized and directed to adopt and prescribe suitable rules and 



KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 361 

regulations governing the movements and anchorage of vessels and 
rafts in Saint Marys River from Point Iroquois, on Lake Superior, 
to Point Detour, on Lake Huron, and for the purpose of enforcing 
the observance of such regulations the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized to detail one or more revenue cutters for duty 
upon the request of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor on said 
river." (34 Stat. L., 136.) 

AN ACT To provide for the removal of derelicts and other floating dangers to naviga- 
tion. May 12, 1906. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury is authorized to have constructed, at a cost not to exceed 
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a steam vessel specially 
fitted for and adapted to service at sea in bad weather, for the pur- 
pose of blowing up or otherwise destroying or towing into port 
wrecks, derelicts, and other floating dangers to navigation, said ves- 
sel to be operated and maintained by the Revenue-Cutter Service 
under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may pre- 
scribe. (34 Stat., 190.) 

AN ACT To regulate enlistments and punishments in the United States Revenue- 
Cutter Service. Approved May 26, 1906. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons composing 
the enlisted force of the Revenue-Cutter Service shall be enlisted for 
a term not to exceed three years, in the discretion of the Secretary of 
the Treasury, who shall prepare regulations governing such enlist- 
ments and for the general government of the service. 

Sec 2. That no commander of a vessel of the Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice shall inflict upon any commissioned or warrant officer under his 
command any other punishment than private reprimand, suspension 
from duty, arrest, or confinement, and such suspension, arrest, or con- 
finement shall not continue longer than ten days, unless a further 
period be necessary to bring the offender to trial; nor shall he inflict 
or cause to be inflicted upon any other person under his command for a 
single offense, or at any one time, any other punishment than confine- 
ment, with or without single irons, on board ship; confinement, on 
bread and water, with or without single irons, on board ship; depri- 
vation of liberty on shore for a period not exceeding three months; 
extra duties, and, in case of absence without leave falling short of 
desertion, forfeiture of two days' pay for each day of unauthorized 
absence: Provided, That such confinement shall not continue longer 
than ten days, unless further confinement be necessary to bring the 
offender to trial, and, when on bread and water, a full ration shall be 
served every third day: Provided, That all punishments inflicted by 
the commander or by his order, except reprimand, shall be fully 
entered upon the ship's log. 

Sec 3. That offenses against the discipline of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service too grave in character to be adequately dealt with directly 
by the commanding officer, as hereinbefore provided, may be punished 
by Revenue-Cutter Service court, to be convened by or under the 
direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. Such courts shall consist 



362 REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of not less than three commissioned officers of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, and shall, under rules approved by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, be governed in their organization and procedure sub- 
stantially in accordance with 21 aval courts, but the jurisdiction of 
Revenue-Cutter Service courts shall be limited to the following 
offenses, namely: Disobeying lawful order of superior officer; re- 
fusing to obey lawful order of superior officer; striking, assaulting, 
or attempting or threatening to strike or assault a superior officer 
while in the execution of the duties of his office; drunkenness on 
duty; drunkenness; gambling; misappropriation of mess funds; mis- 
use of Government property or supplies; fraudulently signing 
vouchers; theft in an amount under one hundred dollars; scandalous 
conduct tending to the destruction of good morals; desertion; 
absence from duty without leave or after leave has expired; neglect 
of duty; conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; malicious 
or willful destruction of public property; aiding or enticing others to 
desert; smuggling liquor on board a vessel of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service; cruelty toward or oppression or maltreatment of any 
subordinate person in the service; using obscene or abusive language; 
violating or refusing obedience to any lawful order or regulation 
issued by the Secretary of the Treasury or the President. Such 
courts shall have power to impose upon a commissioned officer none' 
other than the following punishments, namely: Summary dismissal 
from the service; suspension from duty for a period of two years or 
any part thereof upon reduced pay, which shall in no case be less 
than one-half nor more than three-fourths of the duty pay of such 
officer; reduction of rank in his own grade; retention of his present 
number on the official register for a specified time ; imprisonment for 
a period not to exceed two years; official reprimand. The only 
punishments that may be imposed by such courts upon any person 
in the Revenue-Cutter Service other than a commissioned officer 
shall be the following, namely: Dishonorable discharge; forfeiture 
of not to exceed two months' pay; imprisonment on land for a period 
not to exceed one year; confinement aboard ship not to exceed one 
month; confinement in single irons, on bread and water, or on di- 
minished rations, not exceeding thirty days, but a full ration shall in 
all cases be given at least every third day; confinement in single 
irons; reduction to next inferior rating; deprivation of liberty for 
a period not to exceed three months; extra duties; and imposing of 
these punishments to be regulated in accordance with rules prescribed 
by the Secretary of the Treasury. A commissioned officer of the said 
service may be designated by the convening authority as official 
prosecutor to prosecute the case in the interests of the Government, 
and whose general powers and duties will be prescribed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury. The proceedings, findings, and the sen- 
tences of Revenue-Cutter Service courts shall be subject to review by 
the Secretary of the Treasury, as the convening authority and the 
records of such courts shall be filed in the division of Revenue-Cutter 
Service, Treasury Department, and no sentence of such courts shall 
be carried into effect until approved by the said Secretary: Provided, 
That in the case of a commissioned officer a sentence of dismissal 
shall not be carried into effect until approved by the President of 
the United States. 



KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 368 

Sec 4. That the Secretary of the Treasury may designate, as 
the place of execution of the sentence of a Revenue-Cutter Service 
court involving imprisonment, any prison or penitentiary that 
receives Federal prisoners. 

Sec. 5. That it shall be lawful for the commanding officer of a 
vessel of the Revenue-Cutter Service to apprehend and arrest, or 
cause to be apprehended and arrested, by the force under his com- 
mand, a deserter from the Revenue-Cutter Service wherever found, 
and shall have authority to call upon all persons to assist in such 
arrest, and all persons so assisting are hereby invested with the power 
and authority of deputy United States marshal, and shall deliver 
the offender on board the vessel from which he deserted: Provided, 
That a reward for the apprehension and delivery of a deserter from 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, as hereinbefore provided, not to exceed 
fifteen dollars, may be offered by the commanding officer of the vessel 
from which the person deserted, and this reward, or any part thereof, 
may be deducted and paid from money due said deserter: Provided, 
That no person who has deserted from the Revenue-Cutter Service 
shall afterwards be employed in said service or enlisted in any other 
military or naval service under the United States, unless he shall have 
delivered himself aboard the vessel from which he deserted or been 
apprehended, and the disability shall have been removed by a board 
or commissioned officers of the said service convened for a considera- 
tion of the case, and the action of the said board shall have been 
approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sec. 6. That the jurisdiction preferred by this act for the punish- 
ment of offenses against the discipline of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
shall not be regarded as exclusive, but offenders may, in the discretion 
of the Secretary of the Treasury, be turned over to the civil authorities 
for trial by any court having jurisdiction of the offense. 

Sec. 7. That for offenses against the laws of the United States other 
than those specified in this act offenders shall be turned over to the 
civil authorities for trial. (34 Stat. L., 200.) 

AN ACT To prohibit aliens from fishing in the waters of Alaska. Approved 

June 14, 1906. 

Sec. 5. That the Secretary of Commerce and Labor shall have 
power to make rules and regulations not inconsistent with law to 
carry into effect the provisions of this act. And it shall be the duty 
of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to enforce the provisions of 
this act and the rules and regulations made thereunder, and for that 
purpose he may employ, through the Secretary of the Treasury and 
the Secretary of the Navy, the vessels of the United States Revenue- 
Cutter Service and of the Navy. (34 Stat. L., 263.) 

AN ACT To regulate the landing, delivery, cure, and sale of sponges. June 20, 1906. 
* * * * * * * 

Sec. 4. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of Commerce and 
Labor to enforce the provisions of this act, and upon his request the 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Navy may employ 
vessels of the Revenue-Cutter Service and of the Navy, respectively; 
to that end. (34 Stat. L., 314.) 



364 KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
AN ACT To promote the efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. June 23, 1906. 

Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That on and after the passage 
of this act the number of officers on the active list in the grade of 
third lieutenant in the Revenue-Cutter Service will not exceed thirty- 
seven: Provided, That until such time as the grade of third lieutenant 
shall be filled as provided in this act there may be advanced to that 
grade any cadet of the line who has served not less than two years as 
such cadet, and is recommended for advancement by the Secretary 
of the Treasury. 

Sec. 2. That hereafter the number of cadets of the line allowed in 
the Revenue-Cutter Service shall be such as to provide for filling the 
vacancies that may occur in the grade of third lieutenant in said serv- 
ice: Provided, That a person to be eligible for appointment as a cadet 
in the line shall produce satisfactory evidence of good moral char- 
acter, shall not be less than eighteen nor more than twenty-four years 
of age at the time of appointment, and shall pass a satisfactory phys- 
ical examination by a board of officers of the Public Health and 
Marine-Hospital Service, and a satisfactory educational examination, 
which must in all cases be written and strictly competitive, by a board 
of commissioned officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service, both exami- 
nations to be conducted under such regulations as shall be prescribed 
by the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That no person who has 
been dismissed or compelled to resign from the Military Academy or 
from the Naval Academy of the United States for hazing, or for any 
other improper conduct, shall be eligible for appointment as cadet in 
the Revenue-Cutter Service: Provided, That no person shall become 
a cadet of the line who does not obligate himself, in such manner as 
the Secretary of the Treasurv may prescribe, to serve at least three 
years as an officer in said service after graduation, if his services be so 
long required: And provided further , That the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury may summarily dismiss from the service any cadet who, during 
his probationary term, is found unsatisfactory in either studies or con- 
duct, or may be deemed not adapted for a career in the service. 

Sec. 3. That hereafter appointments into the grade of second assist- 
ant engineer in the Revenue-Cutter Service shall be as at present, 
except that, before being commissioned, the candidate who has 
successfully passed the required examination shall serve a proba- 
tionary term of not less than six months as a cadet engineer to deter- 
mine his fitness for a commission in said service, and during which 
probationary term he shall receive a salary of seventy-five dollars a 
month and one ration per day: Provided, That no person shall be 
commissioned a second assistant engineer who is less than twenty-one 
or more than twenty-six years of age, nor until he shall have served 
the probationary term herein required. 

Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to employ 
two civilian instructors in the Revenue-Cutter Service, one at a salary 
of two thousand dollars per annum and one at a salary of one thou- 
sand eight hundred dollars per annum. 

Sec. 5. That hereafter it shall not be necessary for any commis- 
sioned officer of the Revenue-Cutter Service to make oath to his pay 
accounts. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 365 

Sec 6. That a chief engineer of the Revenue-Cutter Service, to be 
selected for his special ability in naval construction from the present 
list of chief engineers by the Secretary of the Treasury, may be com- 
missioned a constructor for engineering duty in said service with the 
rank, pay, and emoluments now provided by law for a chief engineer: 
Provided, That the vacancy created in the list of chief engineers by 
such transfer shall not be filled by promotion or otherwise, but the 
number of chief engineers now authorized by law shall be reduced by 
one, and that no additional expense shall be incurred by reason of 
commissioning such chief engineer a constructor. (34 Stat. L., 452.) 

AN ACT To increase the efficiency of the personnel of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

April 18, 1908. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That on and after the passage of 
this act the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint in 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, one captain commandant for a period of four years, who 
may be reappointed for further periods of four years each, who shall 
act as chief of the division of Revenue-Cutter Service, with the rank 
of a colonel in the Army and a captain in the Navy, and who shall 
have the pay and allowances of a colonel in the Army; six senior cap- 
tains, who shall perform duty in connection with the construction 
of vessels and the inspection of their armament and crews and such 
other duties as the Secretary of the Treasury or the President may 
prescribe, each with the rank of a lieutenant colonel in the Army 
and a commander in the Navy, and who shall each have the pay and 
allowances of a lieutenant colonel in the Army; one engineer in chief 
for a period of four years, who may be reappointed for further 
periods of four years each, with the rank of a lieutenant colonel in 
the Army and a commander in the Navy, and who shall have the pay 
and allowances of a lieutenant colonel in the Army; and six senior 
engineers, who shall perform duty in connection with the construction 
and inspection of the machinery of vessels and such other duties as 
the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, each with the rank of a 
major in the Army and a lieutenant commander in the Navy, and 
who shall each have pay and allowances of a major in the Army: 
Provided, That the position vacated by an officer appointed captain 
commandant or engineer in chief shall be filled by promotion accord- 
ing to existing laws. That any officer who shall hereafter serve as 
captain commandant shall, when retired, be retired with the rank of 
captain commandant and with the pay of a colonel in the Army on 
the retired list, and that an officer whose term of service as captain 
commandant has expired may be appointed a senior captain and shall 
be an additional number in that grade, but if not so appointed, he 
shall resume the lineal position he would have held in his previous 
grade, as an additional number: Provided further, That any officer who 
shall hereafter serve . as engineer in chief shall, when retired, be 
retired with the rank of engineer in chief and with the pay of a lieu- 
tenant colonel in the Army on the retired list, and that an officer whose 
term of service as engineer in chief has expired may be appointed a 
senior engineer, and shall be an additional number in that grade, but 
if not so appointed, he shall resume the lineal position he- would have 
held in his previous grade, as an additional number. Additional 



366 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

numbers in the grades of senior captain and senior engineer shall at no 
time exceed two in each grade on the active list. 

Sec 2. That the captain commandant shall be selected from 
the active list of line officers not below the grade of captain; that 
the six senior captains shall be made by promotion from the active 
list of captains in the order of seniority; that the engineer in chief 
shall be selected from the active list of engineer officers not below 
the rank of first lieutenant; that the six senior engineers shall be 
made by promotion from the active list of engineer officers of the 
rank of first lieutenant in the order of seniority. When a vacancy 
occurs in any of the grades created by this act, it shall be filled in 
accordance with the provisions of this section. 

Sec 3. That when the appointments herein provided are made 
the active list of captains in the Revenue-Cutter Service shall be 
reduced by six and the active list of engineer officers with the rank 
of first lieutenant by six, and the said lists shall remain thereafter 
at thirty-one and twenty-eight, respectively. 

Sec 4. That the examinations and requirements for promotion 
provided in section eight of the act approved April twelfth, nine- 
teen hundred and two, entitled "An act to promote efficiency of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service/' shall not be required for promotion 
to the grades created by this act. 

Sec 5. That any officer of the Revenue-Cutter Service with a 
creditable record who served during the Civil War in the land or 
naval forces of the United States shall, when retired, have the rank 
and receive three-fourths of the duty pay and increase of the next 
higher grade; and the provisions of this section shall apply to officers 
of the said service now on the retired list. 

Sec 6. That the captain now on the retired list who served as 
chief of the Division of Revenue-Cutter Service for ten years and 
until March twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and five, shall have 
the rank and receive three-fourths of the duty pay and increase of 
the highest grade provided for in this act. 

Sec 7. That a constructor or surgeon, with the rank of first lieu- 
tenant, after fifteen years' service in the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
shall have the pay and allowances of a captain. 

Sec 8. That the pay of the enlisted force of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service shall be increased twenty per centum over the pay that they 
are now receiving. That all warrant and petty officers of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service shall receive ten per centum increase of pay 
for every five years of service as such warrant or petty officers, such 
increase not to exceed forty per centum of the pay of their grade or 
rating: Provided, That no warrant or petty officer shall be appointed 
or rated as such without a suitable examination or period of pro- 
bation to determine his fitness for his grade or rating. That an 
enlisted man or a warrant or petty officer who has served thirty 
years in the service shall, upon suitable application, be placed on 
waiting orders and receive seventy-five per centum of the pay and 
increase of his grade or rating: Provided, That such enlisted man, 
warrant or petty officer may be assigned to such duties as he may 
be able to perform. 

Sec 9. That a third lieutenant or an engineer officer with the rank 
of third lieutenant who has served ^rve years in his grade shall, upon 
passing the examinations now required by law, be eligible to promo- 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 367 

tion to the next higher grade : Provided, That there shall be no increase 
in the total number of lieutenants nor in the total number of engineer 
officers below the rank of first lieutenant authorized by law: Provided 
further, That nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent 
promotions to fill vacancies as now provided by law. 

Sec 10. That engineer officers who now have or who may here- 
after have the rank of captain, first lieutenant, second lieutenant, 
or third lieutenant in the Revenue-Cutter Service, shall hereafter 
have the title of captain of engineers, first lieutenant of engineers, 
second lieutenant of engineers, and third lieutenant of engineers, 
respectively, and the titles of chief engineer, first assistant engineer, 
and second assistant engineer are hereby abolished. That precedence 
between line and engineer officers of the same rank shall be deter- 
mined by length of continuous service as a commissioned officer. 

Sec 11. That an enlisted man upon first entering the Revenue- 
Cutter Service shall have credited to his account the sum of forty- 
five dollars, and upon each subsequent enlistment the sum of twenty 
dollars, for uniform clothing, and such amount shall be paid to said 
enlisted man at the expiration of his term of enlistment if he has 
served a full term as prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury 
and has received an honorable discharge. 

Sec 12. That the presidents and recorders of Revenue-Cutter 
Service courts and commanding officers of vessels of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service be, and are hereby, authorized to administer oaths of 
allegiance and such other oaths as may be necessary for the proper 
conduct of said service; and that commanding officers of vessels of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service be, and are hereby, authorized to admin- 
ister oaths generally in Alaska. 

Sec 13. That the number of officers allowed in the grades of second 
lieutenant and third lieutenant and second lieutenant of engineers 
and third lieutenant of engineers is hereby increased five in each of 
said grades. 

Sec 14. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are 
hereby repealed. (35 Stat. L., 61.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and nine, and for other pur- 
poses. May 27, 1908. 

* * * That hereafter no pension shall be allowed or paid to any 
commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted man in the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, either on the active or retired list. (35 Stat. L., 322.) 

AN ACT Making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twelve, and for other pur- 
poses. March 4, 1911. 

* * * .. Provided, That officers and men of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service dying in the service of the United States, or dying in a desti- 
tute condition after having been honorably discharged from the serv- 
ice, may be buried in any national cemetery free of cost, under the 
regulations now or hereafter provided for the burial of officers and men 
of the Army in national cemeteries. (36 Stat. L. ; 1389.) 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 24 



368 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY, 

Exhibit No. 4B. 
Regulations and General Orders of the Service. 



B 



The regulations of the service are published in a volume of 293 
a<*es, entitled "Regulations for the Revenue-Cutter Service of the 

nited States, 1907." These regulations have been supplemented 
and amended by general orders issued from time to time since the 
publication of the foregoing regulations. As these documents are 
readily available in printed form, they are not reproduced here, but 
are made a part of this report by reference. 



Exhibit No. 5B. 

Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, Fiscal Year 1910, 
Regarding the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

[The service itself makes no report that is printed. The following gives all references to the service con 
tained in the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, fiscal year 1910.] 

The following is a summary of the regular work of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service during the fiscal year 1910: 

Lives saved (actually rescued) from drowning 25 

Persons on board vessels assisted 1, 801 

Persons in distress taken on board and cared for 365 

Vessels assisted 156 

Vessels boarded and papers examined 18, 799 

Vessels seized or reported for violation of law 647 

Fines and penalties incurred by vessels reported $160, 569 

Value of vessels assisted and their cargoes $10, 247, 535 

Derelicts and obstructions to navigation removed or destroyed 28 

Net expenditure: 

Appropriation for maintenance of the service, including appropria- 
tion for special repairs $2, 563, 000 

Estimated unexpended balance $9, 761. 96 

The duties of the service have been actively performed on all 
parts of the seacoast of the United States, both on the Atlantic and 
the Pacific Oceans, and have extended, as usual, to the Great Lakes, 
Alaska, Porto Rico, and Hawaii. The cutters have continued their 
work in Bering Sea and other northern waters for the protection of 
the fur seals and the fisheries. On July 9, 1909, the Japanese 
schooner Tenyu Maru was seized for illegal sealing within territorial 
limits, and on June 28, 1910, the schooner ToJcai Maru was taken into 
custody at Kalekta Bay for fishing in American waters in violation 
of the act of June 14, 1906. The sailing mas,ter and navigator of the 
Japanese schooner Koyei Maru, who proved to be a naturalized citi- 
zen of the United States, was arrested for unlawful sealing and was 
subsequently tried and convicted of the offense. 

In the month of January, 1910, the cutter Thetis, with head- 
quarters at Honolulu, proceeded to various islands of the Hawaiian 
Group, which had been set apart by executive order as a reserve and 
breeding ground for native birds, for the purpose of breaking up re- 
ported depredations at those places by alien plumage hunters. The 
Thetis arrested on Laysan and Lisiansky Islands 23 Japanese sub- 
jects engaged in the illicit killing of birds, and seized plumage in 
their possession valued at $112,470. 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 369 

Timely and valuable assistance was rendered to the natives of 
northern Alaska and to the Government interests in that territory 
by the vessels of the service which made cruises into the Arctic 
Ocean. 

There have been in commission during the year 26 cruising cutters 
and 18 harbor vessels and launches which have performed boarding 
and other duties at the principal seaports. The regulations for the 
movements of vessels in the St. Marys River, prior to and after their 
passage through the locks of the canal at Sault Ste. Marie and the 
enforcement of the anchorage laws at New York and Chicago, have 
been strictly maintained. 

Twelve officers have, under authority of the law on the subject, 
been attached to duty in connection with the Life-Saving Service. 

Effective aid has been rendered to merchant vessels wherever found 
in distress. During the winter, which was severe, the service was 
particularly alert in carrying out the requirements of the law and 
regulations covering this important duty. The value of marine 
property assisted was considerable and the number of vessels to 
which timely relief was afforded was as large as that of the previous 
year. The Tahoma, in the midst of the winter (Feb. 9, 1910), on 
short notice, sailed from Port Townsend for the Aleutian Islands, 
Alaska, a distance of 1,300 miles, and succeeded in rescuing five 
sailors who had been cast away from the wrecked steamer Farallon a 
month previously. They were found at the village of Afognak, and 
had suffered great hardships. The Bear, in October, 1909, conveyed 
from Nome to Seattle 136 destitute people. At the opening of 
navigation in Bering Sea the same year the Thetis picked up and 
saved the British steamer Puritan, which had stove her bow and 
lost the blades of her propeller in endeavoring to make her way 
through the ice fields. She was towed into Nome by the cutter. 
The value of the vessel and her cargo, as given by the charterer, was 
$225,000. 

Twenty-eight dangerous derelicts and obstructions to navigation, 
some of which were very difficult to handle, were removed from the 
paths of commerce by vessels of the service. Two of these, the 
four-masted schooner Asbury Fountain and the three-masted schooner 
Sadie C. Sumner, were found at sea abandoned and were towed to 
Norfolk, Va., the first named by the Onondaga and Mohawk, the 
other by the Seneca, and delivered to the owners. They were valued 
with their cargoes of lumber at $102,000. It required six days of 
persevering and arduous effort to get the Sadie C. Sumner into port. 

Notwithstanding the many and diverse duties of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, strict attention is paid to keeping up efficiently its 
military organization and discipline. Naval drills and target practice 
with rapid-fire guns and small arms are conducted regularly. 

VESSELS. 

Recommendation is renewed that the Woodbury, which is obsolete 
and unsuited to the proper performance of duties on the Maine coast, 
where she is stationed, be replaced as soon as practicable by a modern, 
well-equipped vessel. The Manhattan, at New York, engaged in 
enforcing the anchorage regulations which apply to the North and 
East Rivers and the Kill Van Kull, should also be replaced by a better 



370 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

vessel. A boarding vessel for Chicago is again urged on account of 
the great commercial and shipping interests of that port. 

CONTROL OF REGATTAS. 

Attention is again called to the need of modifying the law in regard 
to patrolling the courses of regattas and marine parades if the Keve- 
nue-Cutter Service is to continue to enforce regulations to promote 
the safety of life on those occasions. There is no reason why the 
control of regattas should not be directly under the jurisdiction of 
this service, leaving it only to the Department of Commerce and 
Labor to exact the penalties for violation of the navigation laws as 
circumstances may require. Under present conditions that depart- 
ment now prescribes regulations directing the movements of revenue 
cutters at such events, which, not being deemed in accordance with 
the intent of the law, this department of course can not recognize. 
Regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the law 
governing the patrol of the course of a yacht or boat race should be 
made by those who do the work, who are thoroughly familiar with it, 
and who must necessarily be governed at such times by the character 
of the race, the existing conditions, and the numerical strength both 
of the contestants and the patrol vessels. Directions for the guidance 
of revenue cutters on these occasions can not properly be formulated 
and issued by an office that presumably knows little or nothing of the 
actual exigencies attending such contests. 

SERVICE STATION AT DUTCH HARBOR OR UN ALASKA. 

Owing to the fact that Dutch Harbor and Unalaska have been the 
base of operations of the Revenue-Cutter Service in northern waters for 
many years past and are likely to continue to be for some time to come, 
it is desirable that a permanent station be established at one of those 
places for the use of the service. This would provide facilities which 
would enable the service to do the best work in connection with the 
growth of Alaska, such as the enforcement of law and order in remote 
places in that Territory, the supervision of and assistance to a con- 
stantly increasing commerce, the preservation of the fur seals, other 
fisheries and game, and the prevention of illegal acts by the crews of 
foreign vessels. Dutch Harbor would be the better location for this 
purpose, but if the Government could not acquire at reasonable cost 
the site at that place now owned and occupied by the North American 
Commercial Co., consisting of about 40 acres, with wharf, storehouses, 
and other buildings, a reservation could be had at Unalaska, about 
1 mile to the southward, and various buildings now there repaired 
and put in proper condition for use. The commanding officer of the 
Bering Sea fleet the past season strongly recommends one of these 
courses and states that the station could probably be maintained on 
the saving effected in the matter of fuel for the ships, as coal could 
then be purchased and stored by the service. 



REVENUE-CUTTER SCHOOL. 

During the past summer the Treasury Department acquired pos^ 
session of Fort Trumbull, at New London, Conn., which the War 
Department had recently abandoned. The buildings are being trans- 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 371 

ferred into a school of instruction for the Revenue-Cutter Service. 
The practice ship Itasca and 50 cadets have been transferred to the 
new station. This has enabled the department to gratify a cherished 
ambition of the service to enlarge and improve its facilities for instruc- 
tion and extend its curriculum and thus tone up its personnel. The 
long and creditable record of this well-disciplined service is secure in 
the hands of men of the right spirit, who are justly proud of the worthy 
traditions of the service. 



Exhibit No. 6B. 

Letter of the Secretary of the Treasury giving a Statement 
of the Expenditures of the Service, Fiscal Year 1910. 

[House of Representatives, Document No. 1246, Sixty-first Congress, third session.] 

expenses of revenue-cutter service. 

Treasury Department, 

Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, December 30, 1910. 
Sir: In compliance with the requirements of chapter 1069, Stat- 
utes at Large (p. 511, vol. 25), I have the honor to state that the 
detailed expenses of the Revenue-Cutter Service for the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1910, were as follows: 

Pay of commissioned officers and cadets, including commutation of 

quarters and light and heat $836, 024. 77 

Pay of warrant officers, enlisted men, pilot, and instructors, including 

commuted rations 839, 854. 09 

Rations of crews 130, 137. 51 

Fuel and water 236, 840. 94 

Ship chandlery and engineers' stores, and supplies and outfits 241, 322. 96 

Repairs 227, 094. 14 

Traveling expenses and mileage 14, 529. 36 

Contingent expenses 19, 557. 91 



2, 545, 361. 68 

Respectfully, 

Franklin MacVeagh, 

Secretary. 
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C. 



Exhibit No. 7B. 

Extract from the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Appro- 
priation Act for the Fiscal Year 1912, making Appropria- 
tions for the Service. 

appropriations fiscal year 1912 for the revenue-cutter 

SERVICE. 

[Legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act, Mar. 4, 1911.] 

For expenses of the Revenue-Cutter Service: For pay and allow- 
ances of captain commandant and officers of that rank, senior cap- 
tains, captains, lieutenants of engineers, two constructors, cadets, 



372 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

cadet engineers, two contract surgeons, two civilian instructors, and 
pilots employed, and rations for pilots ; for pay of warrant and petty 
officers, ships' writers, buglers, seamen, oilers, firemen, coal heavers, 
water tenders, stewards, cooks, and boys, and for rations for the same; 
for allowances for clothing for enlisted men; for fuel for vessels, 
actual traveling expenses or mileage, in the discretion of the Secretary 
of the Treasury, for officers traveling on duty under orders from the 
Treasury Department; commutation of quarters; for the mainte- 
nance of vessels in the protection of the seal fisheries in Bering Sea 
and the other waters of Alaska, and the enforcement of the provisions 
of law in Alaska ; for the maintenance of vessels in enforcing the pro- 
visions of the acts relating to the anchorage of vessels in the ports of 
New York and Chicago, and in the Kennebec River, and the movements 
and anchorage of vessels in Saint Marys River; for temporary leases 
and improvement of property for revenue-cutter purposes; not ex- 
ceeding seven thousand dollars for the improvement of the depot for 
the service at Arundel Cove, Maryland; not exceeding one hundred 
and fifty dollars for medals in marksmanship; contingent expenses, 
including wharfage, towage, dockage, freight, advertising, surveys, 
labor, and all other necessary miscellaneous expenses which are not 
included under special heads, two million two hundred and eighty- 
eight thousand dollars : Provided, That officers and men of the Reve- 
nue-Cutter Service dying in the service of the United States, or dying 
in a destitute condition after having been honorably discharged from 
the service, may be buried in any national cemetery free of cost, under 
the regulations now or hereafter provided for the burial of officers and 
men in the Army in national cemeteries. 

For repairs to revenue cutters, one hundred and seventy-five 
thousand dollars. ♦ 



Exhibit No. 8B. 

Summary of Expenditures of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
for the Fiscal Year 1911. 

[Furnished to he Commission on Economy and Efficiency by the Secretary of the Treasury.] 
Expenditures of the Revenue-Cutter Service for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. 

Washington office - $63, 678. 96 

Office of superintendent of construction and repair, Baltimore, Md. ... 14, 250. 35 

School of instruction, Fort Trumbull, New London, Conn 114, 891. 38 

Depot, Revenue-Cutter Service, Arundel Cove, Md 50, 411. 29 

General store, San Francisco, Cal 7, 453. 06 

Revenue cutters, tugs, and launches 1, 940, 473. 86 

Division and fleet supervision 41, 494. 58 

Supervisor of anchorages l (Chicago) 1, 842. 55 

Miscellaneous : 

Pay of retired officers $212, 829. 25 

Pay of officers on life-saving duty . . . 39, 825. 35 

Pay of warrant officers and enlisted men on waiting 

orders 8,354.17 

General expenses — 

Travel 4,559.03 

Other 1,819.34 

267, 387. 14 



•2,501,883.17 



The supervision of anchorages at the port of New York is performed by the division officer at New York. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 373 

Exhibit No. 9B. 
Bibliography of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

1. Annual reports of the Secretary of the Treasury. G. P. O. 

It is rather remarkable that the Revenue-Cutter Service, 
which expends $2,500,000 annually, makes no annual report 
that is prmted for general distribution. The only report of an 
administrative character that is available is the brief reference 
that is made to the work of the service in the report proper of 
the Secretary of the Treasury. 

2. Letter of the Secretary of the Treasury transmitting detailed state- 

ment of expenses of the Revenue-Cutter Service for the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1910. (61st Cong., 3d sess., H. Doc. 1245.) 
This statement, which is made annually, is of the most sum- 
mary character. Though Congress has directed that a detailed 
statement be made of the expenses of the service, only a few 
summary totals are transmitted to Congress. They furnish no 
information regarding the expenses of operating the service as 
distinguished from capital outlay, regarding the cost of perform- 
ing the different duties discharged, regarding the cost of main- 
taining and operating the different branches of the service, or 
regarding the objects for which expenditures are made. They 
thus fail absolutely to furnish the information that is needed 
for any intelligent consideration of the work of the service or 
the efficiency and economy with which the latter is conducted. 

3. Regulations for the Revenue-Cutter Service of the United States, 

1907. Treasury Department Document, No. 2458. Wash., 
1907. 

4. General Orders of Division of Revenue-Cutter Service. Annual 

publication. 

Supplements and amends regulations. 

5. List and Stations of the Commissioned Officers of the Revenue- 

Cutter Service. 12 pp. G. P. O. Wash., 1910. 

Considers needs of the service as to organization, personnel, 
promotion, etc. 

6. Register of the Officers and Vessels of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

94 pp. G. P. O. Wash., 1910. 

7. Report of the Chief of Division of Revenue-Cutter Service. 62 

pp. G. P. O. Wash., 1897. 

8. Treasury Department: United States Revenue-Cutter Service: 

Paper bv Beekman Winthrop, Assistant Secretary of the 
Treasury. July 8, 1907. G. P. O. Wash., 1907. 

9. Treasury Department: United States Revenue-Cutter Service: 

Paper by C. D. Hilles, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. 
June 11, 1909. G. P. O. Wash., 1909. 

10. Treasury Department: United States Revenue-Cutter Service: 

Paper by Charles D. Hilles, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. 
June 16^ 1910. G. P. O. Wash., 1910. 

11. Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Navy, 1882, 1883, 1889. 

Contains recommendations of the Secretary of the Navy 
for the transfer of the Revenue-Cutter Service to the Navy 
Department. 



374 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

12. Paper by Philip H. Peters on the c l Revenue-Marine Service." 

Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1882. G. P. O. 
Wash., 1882. 

Gives history of the service and arguments in support of the 
proposition to transfer the service to the Navy Department. 

13. Reports in Regard to the Transfer of the Bureaus and Divisions 

of the Merchant-Marine in the Treasury Department to the 
Navv Department. Treasury Department Document, No. 
395, 1883. G. P. O. Wash., 1883. 

Gives replies by the heads of the maritime services of the 
Treasury Department opposing their transfer to the Navy 
Department as urged by the Secretary of the Navy. 

14. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury transmitting, in 

response to Senate Resolution of May 7, 1890, report upon the 
proposed transfer of the Revenue Marine. 51st Cong., 1st 
sess., S. Ex. Doc. 116. 

Contains: (1) A detailed history of efforts looking to the 
transfer of the service from the Treasury Department to the 
Navy Department from the organization of the service in 1790 
to 1890. The reports and recommendations of the Secreta- 
ries of the Treasury relative to the transfer are quoted in full, 
and the action had on bills and resolutions in Congress is 
given. The recommendations of the Secretary of the Navy 
are referred to but not reproduced. 

(2) A reprint of reports in regard to the transfer of the 
Bureaus and Divisions of the Merchant Marine in the Treasury 
Department to the Navy Department, originally printed as 
Treasury Department Document, No. 395, 1883; and 

(3) Copies of (a) bill to transfer the administration of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service to the Navy Department introduced 
in the House of Representatives by Mr. B. W. Harris, January 
2, 1883, and (b) bill to establish a bureau of mercantile marine 
in the Navy Department, introduced in the House of Repre- 
sentatives by Mr. B. W. Harris, January 2, 1883. 

15. Report from the Committee on Naval Affairs to accompany bill 

H. R. 6944 (substitute for H. R. 71 and H. R. 450), transferring 
the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury Department to 
the Navy Department. 51st Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 76. 

16. Report from the Committee on Naval Affairs to accompany bill 

S. 305, transferring the Revenue-Cutter Service from the 
Treasurv Department to the Navv Department. 51st Cong., 
1st sess^, S. Rept. 345. 

17. Information relative to the Revenue Marine, letter from the Sec- 

retary of the Treasury in response to Senate resolution of March 
28, 1892, giving certain. 52d Cong., 1st sess., S. Ex. Doc. 73. 
G. P. O. Wash., 1892. 

18. Minority report from the Committee on Naval Affairs to accom- 

pany S. 67, transferring Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treas- 
ury Department to the Navy Department. Part 2, 52d Cong., 
1st sess., S. Rept. 530. 

19. Report from the Committee on Naval Affairs to accompany S. 67, 

transferring Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury Depart- 
ment to the Navv Department. 52d Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 
530. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 375 

Contains: (1) Two letters from Hon. B. F. Tracy, Secre- 
tary of the Navy, dated January 4, 1890, and February 29, 
1892, supporting strongly the proposition to transfer the service 
from the Treasury Department to the Navy Department. 

(2) Copy of report by Mr. H. C. Lodge, from the Committee 
on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, to accompany 
H. R. 6944 (substitute for H. R. 71 andH. R. 450), recommend- 
ing favorable action on the proposition to transfer the service 
to the Navy Department. 

(3) Copy of report by Mr. Gray, from the Committee on 
Naval Affairs of the Senate, to accompany bill S. 305, recom- 
mending favorable action on the proposition to transfer the 
service to the Navy Department. 

(4) Extract from the Annual Report of the Secretary of the 
Navy, Mr. Chandler, for 1882, recommending the transfer of 
the service to the Navy Department. 

(5) Extract from the Annual Report of the Secretary of the 
Navy, Mr. Chandler, for 1883, recommending the transfer of 
the service to the Navy Department. 

(6) Extract from the Annual Report of the Secretary of the 
Navy, Mr. Tracy, for 1889, recommending the transfer of the 
service to the Navy Department. 

(7) Extract from paper prepared by George H. Peters, 
United States Navy, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, 
on "Reasons for incorporating the Revenue-Marine Service 
as a branch of the Naval Establishment/' 

(8) Petition by officers of the Revenue-Marine Service for 
the transfer of the service to the Navy Department, addressed 
to the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Windom. 

(9) List of resolutions passed by various commercial bodies 
recommending the transfer of the service to the Navy Depart- 
ment. 

20. Transfer of the Revenue-Cutter Service from the Treasury De- 

partment to the Navy Department, letter from the Secretary 
of the Navv as to. 52d Cong., 1st sess., 5. Misc. Doc. 86. 
G. P. O. Wash., 1892. 

21. Transfer of the Revenue-Cutter Service, letter from the Secretary 

of the Treasurv relative to. 52d Cong., 1st sess., S. Ex. Doc. 
44 ; G. P. O. " Wash., 1892. 

22. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from the Com- 

mittee on Commerce. 53d Cong., 2d sess., S. Rept. 362. 
Wash., 1894. 

23. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from Commit- 

tee on Commerce. 54th Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 112; 54th 
Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 381. Wash., 1896. 

24. Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting, in re- 

sponse to Senate resolution of the 16th instant, information 
called for in relation to the Revenue-Cutter Service. 54th 
Cong., 2d sess., S. Doc. 135. 

Contains: (1) A compilation of laws relating to the service. 
(2) A compilation of recommendations made to Congress by 
the several Secretaries of the Treasurv regarding the service 
from December 6, 1889, to February 17, 1897. 



376 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

(3) A table giving the names and stations of vessels, their 
length, tonnage, original cost, cost of repairs from date of 
acquisition to February, 1897, and how and when obtained, etc. 

(4) A statement of number of officers and enlisted men in 
the service. 

25. Revenue-Cutter Service, the. Letter from Secretary of Treasury 

in response to Senate resolution calling for information. 54th 
Cong., 2d sess., S. Doc. 135. Wash., 1897. 

Contains laws in re the service and recommendations by 
Secretary for changes looking toward increased efficiency in 
the service. 

26. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from Com- 

mittee on Commerce. 55th Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 46. 
Wash., 1897. 

27. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from the 

Committee on Commerce. 55th Cong., 2d sess., S. Rept. 978. 
Wash., 1898. 

Recommending favorable action on bill (S. 3903) to promote 
better discipline and administration. 

28. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from the 

Committee on Commerce. 56th Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 65; 

56th Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 466. Wash., 1900. 

An argument, with opinions of various authorities, for reor- 
ganizing the methods of ranking, scale of compensation, and 
removal of difference in standing between officers of Ajmy and 
Navy and Revenue-Cutter Service of same rank. 

29. Mileage of certain officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Letter 

from Secretary of the Treasury transmitting a communication 
from the General Superintendent of Life-Saving Service relat- 
ing to mileage of certain officers. 57th Cong., 1st sess., H. 
Doc. 603. Wash., 1902. 

30. Report from the Committee on Commerce on S. 105 to promote 

the efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 57th Cong., 1st 
sess., S. Rept. 172; 57th Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 622. 

Contains the " official record" of the part taken by the 
Revenue-Cutter Service in the War with Spain. (2) Data 
regarding number and pay of officers of the service as existing 
and as proposed by pending bill to which report relates. 

31. Salary tables, Revision of Government. Letter from Secretary 

of Treasury transmitting copy of opinion of comptroller, etc. 
57th Cong., 1st sess., H. Doc. 636. Wash., 1902. 

Places officers of Revenue-Cutter Service on equal salary 
with officers of corresponding rank in Army or Navy. Also 
reports creation of a committee to consider question of salaries. 

32. Schools. Promotion of education in public marine. Report from 

Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. 57th Cong., 
2d sess., H. Rept. 3420; 57th Cong., 2d sess., S. Rept. 2703. 
Wash., 1903. 

33. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from the 

Committee on Commerce. 58th Cong., 2d sess., S. Rept. 1530. 
Wash., 1904. 

34. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from Com- 

mittee on Commerce. 59th Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 809. 
Wash., 1906. 



EEPOKTS OP THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 377 

35. Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from Com- 

mittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce to accompany 
S. 3044. 59th Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 4902. Wash., 1906. 

36. Enlistments and punishments in Revenue-Cutter Service. Report 

from Committee on Commerce to accompany S. 4129. 59th 
Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 956; 59th Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 
2749. Wash., 1906. 

37. Life-Saving Service, authority for detailing officers of Revenue- 

Cutter Service to, for duty in office of. Letter from Secretary 
of Treasury transmitting a copy of a communication from 
General Superintendent of Life-Saving Service. 59th Cong., 
1st sess., S. Doc. 304. Wash., 1906. 

38. Navy, transfer of certain officers to the. Letter from Secretary 

of Navy to accompany S. bill 2444. 59th Cong., 1st sess., S. 
Doc. 117. Wash., 1906. 

To relieve Navy Department from the necessity of withdraw- 
ing men from the academy to send them to sea in the middle 
of the fourth year, the Secretary suggests that power be given 
the President to appoint officers of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
and the Naval Militia, by and with senatorial consent, to grade 
of lieutenant or ensign after an examination to be prescribed 
by Secretary of Navy. 
j9. Report from the Committee on Commerce on S. 7663 to increase 
the efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 59th Cong., 2d 
sess., S. Rept. 7322. 

Contains statement of Capt. Worth G. Ross, Chief of the 
Division of the Revenue-Cutter Service regarding the service. 

40. Efficiency of personnel of Revenue-Cutter Service. Report from 

Committee on Commerce. 60th Cong., 1st sess., S. Rept. 58. 

Wash., 1908. 

A discussion of rank, promotions, pay, etc., of personnel, 
together with provisions of new bill. There is added an esti- 
mate of the increased annual expense under the provisions of 
the bill. 

41. Report from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce 

on S. 24, to increase the efficiency of the personnel of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service. 60th Cong., 1st sess., H. Rept. 1057. 

42. Use of Revenue-Cutter Service in locating yacht of Mr. John J. 

Astor, a reply to the inquiry of the House as to. 61st Cong., 
2d sess., H. Doc. 549. 

Involved with the answer to the particular inquiry is a 

description of the work and number of vessels used therefor in 

finding vessels overdue. 

43. Manuscript report on the Life-Saving Service; Treasury Depart- 

ment Committee. G. P. O. Wash., 1911. 

1. Report of committee, January 16, 1911. 

2. Comments on the report of a committee appointed to inves- 

tigate the conduct of business in the Life-Saving Service > 
March 25, 1911. 

3. Memorandum of committee in reply thereto-, April 1, 1911. 

4. Supplementary letter of General Superintendent of the Life- 

Saving Service, April 14, 1911. 



378 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

5. Reply of general superintendent to memorandum of com- 
mittee, April 21, 1911. 
This report, though relating primarily to the Life-Saving 
Service, contains valuable information bearing upon the rela- 
tions between that service and the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

44. Hamilton's Works. 7 vols. Vol. IV. N. Y. C, 1850. 

Contains, on page 46, a report on Hamilton's inquiry into 
size, cost, and estimate of immediate need of vessels. Report 
is in form of a letter to President, dated September 10, 1790. 

45. Revenue-Cutter Service, report on the. Gallatin, A. 4 pp. 10th 

Cong., 2d sess., Ex. Docs. (Dec. 2). Wash., 1808. 

46. Our Coast Guard. Ross, W. C. Harper's New Monthly. Nov., 

1S86 ; 

Gives history of origin and growth of service, its aims and 
duties. 

47. United States Revenue-Cutter Service in the War with Spain. 49 

pp. G. P.O. Wash., 1899. 

48. School of Instruction of the United States Revenue-Cutter Service. 

12 pp. G. P. O. Wash., 1905. 



Department of Commerce and Labor, 

Washington, January 10, 1912. 

Sir: I have the honor to return herewith the report of the Com- 
mittee on Economy and Efficiency relating to the Revenue-Cutter 
Service of the Treasury Department, transmitted with your letter of 
the 27th ultimo. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor, for the enforcement of 
various laws, needs vessels outside of its own fleet (46 seagoing light- 
house tenders, 64 light vessels, 18 seagoing Coast and Geodetic Sur- 
vey vessels, and 5 seagoing Fisheries vessels), and it has been cus- 
tomary to use some of the 45 vessels of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

The navigation laws (including steamboat-inspection laws, anchor- 
ages, St. Marys River, motor-boat law, rules to prevent collisions, 
regatta regulations, etc.) are, with rare exceptions, enforced on the 
waters within territorial limits and on relatively smooth water. 
Armed seagoing revenue cutters are not particularly adapted to 
these purposes, and as a rule better results may be secured by the 
use of smaller and less expensive vessels. The departments six 
months' experience with an appropriation of $15,000 has confirmed 
this opinion. 

Seagoing vessels of the Revenue-Cutter types are, however, needed 
to enforce the laws for the protection of the seal fisheries and similar 
duties in Bering Sea. It is, of course, of no consequence to this 
department whether these vessels so employed are attached to the 
Treasury Department or to the Navy Department. In fact, there 
would be some plain advantages in having vessels for these purposes 
attached directly to the Department of Commerce and Labor and 
administered together with the larger fleet already under its control. 

Patrol of coast waters to aid vessels in distress is closely allied to 
the purposes for which the Life-Saving and Lighthouse Services are 
established. In fact, the regular work of lighthouse tenders requires 
them to move constantly along the coasts. In so far as the Revenue- 



BEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 379 

Cutter Service engages in this work a better result would probably 
be secured if the three services were under one general administrative 
direction. 

Respectfully, Charles Nagel, 

Secretary. 
The President, 

The White House. 



55270-X] Department of Commerce and Labor, 

Washington, January 10, 1912. 

ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY REPORT ABOLITION OF REVENUE-CUTTER 

SERVICE. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor needs vessels to enforce 
various laws, and outside of its own fleet (46 seagoing lighthouse 
tenders, 64 light vessels, 18 seagoing Coast and Geodetic Survey 
vessels, and 5 seagoing Fisheries vessels) it uses for convenience some 
of the 45 vessels of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

1. The navigation laws (including steamboat-inspection laws, 
anchorages, St. Marys River, motor-boat law, rules to prevent col- 
lisions, regatta regulations, etc.), are enforced on the water with 
rare exceptions within territorial limits and on relatively smooth 
water. Armed seagoing revenue cutters are not adapted to these 
purposes, and better results may be secured much more generally 
by the use of smaller and much less expensive vessels. The depart- 
ment's sLx months' experience with an appropriation of $15,000 has 
demonstrated these facts. 

2. Seagoing vessels of revenue-cutter types are needed to enforce 
laws for th(3 protection of the seal fisheries and similar duties in 
Bering Sea. It matters little to this department whether the ves- 
sels thus employed are attached nominally to the Treasury or Navy 
Departments. There are some plain advantages in having vessels 
for these purposes attached directly to the Department of Commerce 
and Labor, and administered together with the larger fleet already 
under its control. 

3. Patrol of coast waters to aid vessels in distress is allied to the 
purposes for which the Life-Saving and Lighthouse Services are estab- 
lished — in fact the regular work of lighthouse tenders requires them 
constantly to move along the coasts. In so far as the Revenue- 
Cutter Service engages in this work, its energies probably would be 
more effective if the three services were under one general adminis- 
trative direction. 



February 8, 1912, 
My Dear Mr. President: 

I have your letter of January 22 with a redraft of the general 
report on the Revenue-Cutter Service. In the main I shall be com- 
pelled to restate the conclusions which are contained in my earlier 
letter of January 10, but perhaps I may be permitted to express my 
views upon the general recommendation of the commission more 
fully. 



380 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

With the conclusions reached by the commission I agree. It is 
apparent that the conditions which gave rise to the organization of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service have practically ceased to exist. It is 
equally clear that the duties which have since then been added to 
this service are such that they can be more advantageously distrib- 
uted among the several departments which are peculiarly charged 
with them. 

Assuming, therefore, that at the present time there is no sufficient 
reason for the continuance of the Revenue-Cutter Service as a sepa- 
rate organization, the immediate question is, How shall the distribu- 
tion be had? To my mind the argument of the commission for the 
transfer of the cruising cutters to the Navy is conclusive. Such a 
change would make for economy and, as I see it, for efficiency. I 
do not believe that the proposed transfer would in any measure em- 
barrass other departments that have enjoyed the assistance of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service. In so far as such assistance continues to be 
necessary, it can be rendered by assignment from the Navy just as 
promptly and satisfactorily as is true now. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor, as was stated in my 
earlier letter, has had comparatively little use for seagoing vessels. 
Such use has been limited substantially to Bering Sea, and even in 
those waters to the protection of the seal herds. It appears to me 
that such protection can be given by the revenue cutters if they are 
under the control of the Navy just as satisfactorily as has so far been 
done. 

As was stated in my earlier letter, the navigation laws, including 
steamboat-inspection laws, anchorages, St. Mary's River, motor- 
boat laws, rules to prevent collisions, regatta regulations, etc., are, 
with rare exceptions, in force on the waters within territorial limits, 
and on relatively smooth water. As a general rule, this service can 
be more satisfactorily intrusted to the smaller and le$s expensive 
vessels, and the Department would really have very little, if any, 
use for revenue cutters in this service provided the smaller craft is 
supplied. 

The patrol of coast waters to aid vessels in distress, to rny mind, 
presents the most difficult question. It is my impression that some 
revenue cutters should be reserved for this service, and it does not 
appear to me that such revenue cutters should be under the control 
or the Navy. On the contrary, I am of the opinion that such service 
is closely allied with the Lighthouse and Life-Saving Services, and 
should be consolidated with them. I can see no sufficient reason 
why the Lighthouse Service and the Life-Saving Service shoulet not 
be combined. In my judgment, such a consolidation would niake 
for economy and efficiency, and if it is had, I think a number of 
revenue cutters should be connected with that service. It is true 
that our lighthouse tenders constantly move along the coast and m'ay 
be trusted to do a considerable part of this work, but it is also true 
that these tenders are required to make their trips at stated tim»3s, 
to reach certain points at given dates, and that this regular service 
may not hold them sufficiently free to meet conditions resulting fro>ni 
the dangers of the sea. In my judgment, it would be advisable, 
therefore, to retain a few revenue cutters so that they may be free^to 
patrol the coast waters and to render such service in connection ^with 
navigation, steamboat inspection, etc., as may be called for. In 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 381 

other words, I would be in favor of making experiments under the 
revised plan in order that the details of the system may be worked 
out in the light of actual experience. 

Very sincerely, yours, Charles Nagel, 

Secretary. 
The President, 

The White House. 



February 7, 1912. 
Sir: In reply to your letter of January 22, regarding the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, I have the honor to inclose a memorandum which 
gives the department's views on this subject. 

Respectfully, G. v. L. Meyer. 

The President, 

The White House. 

February 7, 1912. 

[Memorandum: Subject: Report of Cleveland Economy Board upon the Abolishment of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service.] 

The functions of the two services are not similar (see p. 10); the chief function of 
the Navy is the preparation and maintenance of the personnel and materiel in readi- 
ness for war; a further function is the protection of American citizens and property 
in foreign countries. 

The chief functions of the Revenue-Cutter Service on the high seas are— 

(1) The assistance of vessels in distress. 

(2) The protection of seal fisheries and sea-otter hunting grounds. 

(3) The destruction of derelicts at sea. 

It is not believed that the personnel of the Revenue-Cutter Service can aid in the 
maintenance of the fleet in its readiness for war and it is doubtful if the Navy Depart- 
ment would wish to intrust it with the handling of delicate diplomatic questions con- 
stantly arising in Central America, the West Indies, and elsewhere. 

It is true that the chief functions of the Revenue-Cutter Service can be performed 
by the Navy, but this can not be done as stated in the Cleveland report (p. 13) in the 
regular performance of their military duties. All duties which interfere with the 
training of the personnel for war are irregular and in a degree detrimental to the effi- 
ciency of the fleet. 

We agree with the report of the board that it would be economy to abolish the 
Revenue-Cutter Service as a separate branch of the Government. It is believed 
that certain duties now performed by that service of a maritime nature could be pro- 
vided for by the Navy. It is not believed to be to the best interests of the Navy or of 
the Government to transfer the personnel of the Revenue Marine to the Navy. 

The naval service has had its efficiency affected in the past by the conflicting 
interests of the various corps upon the subject of rights, pay, precedence, division 
of duties, privileges, etc. It has made great progress recently in overcoming these 
adverse conditions and in establishing a harmonious personnel, realizing a harmo- 
nious personnel is just as important as a homogeneous fleet. 

There are in the Revenue-Cutter Service 390 officers and cadets and it is believed 
that the difficulties of transferring them to the personnel of the naval service would 
accentuate the conditions referred to above to an unfortunate degree. Such a trans- 
fer would be of no possible advantage to the Navy, but a serious menace to the har- 
mony of the personnel. 

If, however, it should be decided that the Revenue-Cutter Service is to be abol- 
ished and the Navy required to take up a portion of its work, it would seem impera- 
tive that the vessels of the Revenue Marine be transferred to the Navy, which is 
already suffering from an insufficient number of small vessels. The enlisted personnel 
could readily be absorbed in the Navy, the total enlisted strength of the latter being 
permanently increased by the number so absorbed. The question of the amalgama- 
tion of the commissioned and warrant personnel present greater difficulties and is one 
which can best be solved by a joint board of officers of the two services. In this con- 
nection it is proper to note the ratio existing in the Revenue-Cutter Service between 
the numbers of officers and of men. There are 360 commissioned and warrant officers 
and 1,390 in the enlisted force, a ratio of 1 to 4; in the Navy the ratio is 1 officer to 
about 16 men. 



382 reports of thk commission on economy and efficiency. 

Treasury Department, 

Washington, February 26, 1912. 
Dear Mr. President: 

The recommendation to abolish the Revenue-Cutter Service made 
to you by the Commission on Economy and Efficiency came out of a 
clear sky. No one connected with the service or with the Treasury 
Department, with winch the service has been connected from the 
beginning in 1790, knew that the project was being considered. And 
it never had been considered before. It had been suggested a good 
while ago that the Revenue-Cutter Service should be transferred to 
the Navy Department; but the thought of abolishing it is new, and 
the recommendation by the commission has been keenly felt by the 
revenue-cutter officers and men. It came at a time when the service 
was performing conspicuous and heroic work and when its fit equipment 
and its high usefulness were in immediate and conspicuous evidence. 

The reception given the suggestion of the commission by the press 
and by the public was a salve to the wounded pride of the officers and 
men. The subject at once arrested public attention, and no news- 
paper, no commercial organization, and no individual in Washington 
or throughout the country, so far as I am advised, has approved the 
suggestion. 

I send herewith, as a part of my review, a memorandum of the 
captain commandant, written after a most careful consideration of the 
commission's report by himself and by his bureau. And I also ask 
that a printed copy of a short speech I made at Newport News on 
February 10, at the time of the launching of two revenue cutters, be 
made a part. 

And I beg to state in addition a few considerations, as follows: 

1. The Revenue-Cutter Service has at no time since it was estab- 
lished by Alexander Hamilton in 1790 been less than highly efficient 
and indispensable. It, however, has constantly grown in both these 
respects, though the work which it was originally organized to per- 
form has largely diminished and in some instances has passed out 
entirely. The growth of the Government and the country has so 
added to the original duties that the work of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service is more important than ever before. And, on the other hand, 
the long period of training, discipline, tradition, and esprit has done 
what it should have done — made the service more and more efficient 
and more and more honorable and distinguished. 

To abolish a service with such a record and such present significance 
would be unprecedented. If the occupations of the service were no 
longer sufficient, or if its efficiency and discipline and esprit de corps 
had diminished, it would be one thing. But all of these features are 
at their best to-day, and the service is at the highest point of its 120 
years. 

2. A tendency to think a service is misplaced if it does not ex- 
clusively act for a single department is evident in this recommenda- 
tion, though it is at the same time proposed to have the Navy 
Department do the same work, even more largely, for other depart- 
ments, including the Treasury. No department can or should be 
complete within itself, nor even homogeneous, nor contained within 
impassable outlines. Nor is it possible or desirable that no two 
departments shall do the same sort of work under any circumstances. 
I came to Washington with a different notion, and it has taken three 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 383 

years to sufficiently modify it. There are a few cases where a con- 
solidation or amalgamation of two or more bureaus or services could 
be property made, and there are certain activities less than bureaus 
that could be differently affiliated; but that there is a wholesale 
opportunity for this kind of reorganization I am convinced, from my 
study of the subject, is not true. 

Moreover, it isn't possible to have the departments homogeneous 
unless you largely multiply the number of departments. The newest 
department — Commerce and Labor — constructed with the idea of 
homogeneousness, is as heterogeneous as any department in the Gov- 
ernment. 

However, this is not a question of the transfer of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service from the Treasury Department to some other depart- 
ment, but the question of its abolition. There is, nevertheless, in the 
suggestion, no doubt, the influence of this idea of changing activities 
from one department to another in the hopeless quest of absolute 
homogeneousness. And it is therefore worth while to call attention 
to the fact that the astonishing success of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
and the maintenance and development of its valuable military char- 
acter have all taken place in the Treasury Department. And it is 
scarcely possible to imagine that the service could have been better 
under other relationships than it has been, or that, if differently 
placed, it could be better now than it is. Then, one may ask, Why 
bother or take up time over a service as highly developed as tins, and 
which in this present administration is continuing to devotedly improve 
itself, and which is perfectly happy in its relationships and environ- 
ment ? 

3. The question of economy, which was the occasion of the recom- 
mendation, is not treated by the commission with any detail or even 
with any exact calculations. Only general expectations of savings are 
expressed. In point of fact, there would be no hope of any economy. 
The captain commandant claims, on the basis of careful study and cal- 
culation, that it would cost about 50 per cent more to do the work 
through other departments. And I think his calculations are correct. 
Certainly the abstract argument — apart from the recorded and official 
statistics — would distinctly be that the disintegration of the service 
and its division among various departments would necessarily add to 
the expense if all the work were performed. It would be a scattered 
administration instead of a concentrated one. And scattered admin- 
istration is almost necessarily more expensive than concentrated and 
centrally organized administration. 

In this case, particularly, nothing could be gained by transferring 
and dividing up the various activities now concentrated in this one 
organization. We can not, for example, say that the Navy Depart- 
ment is now overstocked with more vessels than it needs, and more 
officers and men than it needs. It can not be said that there is a 
great lot of slack in the Navy Department which could be taken up 
and applied to duties other than those which the department is now 
performing. I take it that the Navy Department would very 
properly resent the claim that it has a surplusage of men or vessels, 
with which it could undertake such additional active lines of duty 
as this of the Revenue-Cutter Service without increasing its expendi- 
tures. If the Navy Department said any such thing, it would be a 
confession that it is now pursuing a wasteful policy, and that it is 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 25 



384 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

oversupplied with vessels and with men and officers. But it is 
notorious that this is not true. It is notorious that the Navy needs 
more vessels, large and small alike, and more men and more officers. 
And it is clear that it is in no position to take over the duties of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service without as much new equipment as the 
Treasury Department has. And it is clear that it would cost the 
Navy Department a largely increased amount to administer the work 
in times of peace, and that the work would be liable to be suspended 
in time of war. 

You will have noted that the whole cost of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service is only $2,500,000 a year; and aside from all of its other 
usefulness it actually saves in money from the disasters of the sea 
several times as much as it costs. And it saves on the average of 50 
lives a year in addition. And I fancy there is no service of the Gov- 
ernment that is conducted with more painstaking and successful 
economy. 

4. Moreover, the work of the officers and men of the Navy has no 
relation to the work of the Revenue-Cutter Service. The Navy is 
fully occupied with its own development and training — with perfect- 
ing its personnel, its practice, and its equipment. No one is dissatis- 
fied with how the Navy is occupying itself, and no one thinks it can 
work more advantageously than it is already working, and no one 
wishes to divert it at this time from its purely naval occupations. 

In addition, the Navy could never give the kind and degree of 
attention that is required of the Revenue-Cutter Service and of its 
officers and men trained in their particular duties for 120 years. The 
work is alien to the work of the Navy, alien to the spirit of the Navy, 
and alien, I think, to its professional capacities and instincts — alien 
certainly to its training and to its tastes. 

5. A word as to the relations of the Revenue-Cutter Service and 
the Life-Saving Service. The commission has had to approach this 
relationship from the outside. I have studied it considerably from 
the inside; and so did Assistant Secretary Hilles, and so has Assistant 

.Secretary Bailey. And everybody who has studied it in the Treas- 

Tury Department within my time is convinced that the Revenue- 
Cutter Service should have more connection with the Life-Saving 
Service, rather than less ; and that it furnishes exactly that training, 
with its military precision and its military esprit, that this remark- 
able Life-Saving Service needs. And it is the relation existing from 
the beginning between the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue- 
Cutter Service that has done very much to make the Life-Saving 
J Service the conspicuous, successful, and heroic thing that it is. To 
{disassociate the Life-Saving Service and the Revenue-Cutter Service 
would be disastrous. We have been working to secure a closer rela- 
tionship between the two services; and that is the line of progress; 
that is the line of development. I say this without any hesitation or 
doubt whatever. It would be the greatest mistake in the world to 
add any further separation between these two great services. Indeed, 
I think it might be very well a little later to make the Life-Saving 
Service a part of the Revenue-Cutter Service, and I believe that will 

. be done. 

*- 6. The notion that the military character of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service is inappropriate to a civil department is, of course, a miscon- 
ception. In the first place, all governments have civil heads; and 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 385 

the mere existence of a military training or system in any branch of 
the public service does not render it necessary to have a general or an 
admiral at the head of the government. In point of fact, there are 
no generals or admirals at the head of our Government. The Presi- 
dent is a civilian. The governors of States are civilians. Yet the 
President and the governors all have military forces under them. The 
mayors of cities introduce into their police and fire departments every 
bit of military discipline and esprit they can get in. But more notice- 
able still is the fact that the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the 
Navy are just as much civilians as the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Moreover, the Treasury Department has other branches with mili- 
tary quality. The Life-Saving Service itself has all of the military 
character we have been able to get into it so far; and the Public 
Health and Marine-Hospital Service is on a military footing. And it 
is the fact that these three important services, with their military 
basis and instinct, have not only always been associated with the 
peaceful Treasury Department, but are among the most conspicu- 
ously successful and admired branches of the Federal Government — 
and among those branches which the public most approves and 
trusts. 

There is no end to what I could say on this subject. But I am sure 
I have already said more than is necessary. 
Very sincerely, yours, 

Franklin MacVeagh. 

The President. 

Address Delivered by the Hon. Franklin MacVeagh, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, at Newport News, Va., February 10, 
1912, on the Occasion of the Launching of the Revenue- 
Cutters "Unalga" and " Miami." 

why is there a revenue-cutter service, what does it do, and 
why is the government to-day launching these two new 
able vessels to add to its fleet? 

These are questions which naturally arise on this very interesting 
occasion; and to answer them we need only to refer to the distin- 
guished history of the service and its remarkable performances. 

Looking backward we see that this service — u The strong right arm 
of the Treasury," as it has been termed — owes its existence to that 
far-seeing statesman, Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the 
Treasury, upon whose recommendation the First Congress, in its 
second session, enacted the law wdrich created the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, in the year 1790. This parentage alone places it among the 
honored and the time-honored institutions of the Government. 

It is thus seen to be one of the oldest distinct branches of the 
Government. It was founded to perform dual functions — functions 
of peace and functions of war — for it must be remembered that there 
was no regular naval establishment when the Revenue-Cutter Service 
was founded. And ever since and to this present day this service has 
continued along these dual lines of duty. Its first duties of a peaceful 
nature were primarily to prevent smuggling and to enforce the 
customs laws; since then like duties have been successively added 
until to-day the activities of this Revenue-Cutter Service relate to 



386 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

almost all maritime matters over which the General Government 
exercises jurisdiction. 

The fundamental function of all the armed branches of the Govern- 
ment in time of war is to fight the Nation's battles either on sea or on 
land. In this role the Revenue-Cutter Service has taken an active 
and conspicuous part. There has been no war on the seas in which 
these small vessels have not participated. It must be borne in mind 
that such wars are not confined to combats between fleets of battle- 
ships. True, such combats furnish the chief and the spectacular 
parts of the conflict. But it is quite essential that the enemy's ports 
shall be blockaded, his merchant marine captured and destroyed, that 
troopships shall be convoyed, and that towns remote from scenes of 
battle shall be guarded from marauding privateers. In these func- 
tions the "little fellow" plays quite as active a part as his more 
imposing and formidable brethren. In the War of 1812, in the 
Paraguayan expedition, in the Civil War, and in the Spanish- American 
War the cutters have been engaged and have rendered good accounts 
of themselves. Looking backward to our most recent conflict, most 
of us will remember that it was a revenue cutter, the McCulloch, 
which carried the first news of Dewey's victory to a waiting and 
anxious world ; and many of us will recall the interesting fact that the 
blockade of the entire north coast of Cuba was for about a month 
maintained entirely by the fleet of revenue cutters, as the larger ships 
of the Navy had to be withdrawn to prepare for the attack of the 
Spanish fleet. Nor is it likely to be soon forgotten that the rescue 
01 the torpedo boat Winslow, lying disabled and helpless under the 
murderous fire of the forts at Cardenas, was made by the little revenue 
cutter Hudson, a vessel less than one-third as large as those vessels we 
have launched here to-day. For this brave act I am happy to say her 
commanding officer was awarded the only gold medal given by 
Congress to anyone taking part in that war. 

But peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. And while 
the Revenue-Cutter Service performs as much fighting service in 
proportion to the amount invested as any other equal number of men 
in either the Army or Navy it is the peaceful victories and achieve- 
ments of the service which appeal strongest to the people. The 
honor and distinction of these extraordinary services the revenue 
cutters share with no other force. Her honorable place in peace she 
holds alone. 

Many of the duties which this service performs in times of peace 
have to do with the devoted and gallant rescue, in stress and storm, 
of helpless vessels in distress. Other duties are connected with the 
enforcement of the laws applicable to the merchant marine and pro- 
tection both of its rights and obligations. It is easy to understand 
that the military training which its personnel receives fits them splen- 
didly for the emergent — the immediate — character of these more 
peaceful duties; and one of the greatest attributes of the service is the 
promptness and alacrity with which it responds to all calls for assist- 
ance from whatever quarter or at whatever moment they come. 
The wireless message is scarcely more prompt than the revenue cut- 
ter's response. To illustrate the celerity with which the revenue 
cutters have in the recent past responded to the calls of the distressed 
at sea, let me note a few conspicuous and dramatic instances. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 387 

In 1882 the Navy sent the Rogers as a relief ship to search for the 
ill-fated Jeanette, lost in the Arctic waters. The fate of the Jeanette 
befell the Rogers, and as the Navy had no other vessel to send to her 
relief an appeal was made to the Treasury Department for the rev- 
enue cutter Corwin. That vessel was undergoing repairs, but was 
made ready in a brief three weeks for this daring and successful trip — 
successful, I say — for inside of two months the Corwin had rescued 
the entire party from the ice fields of the Arctic Ocean and brought 
them safely to San Francisco. 

Again, there was that wonderfully prompt, effective, and fortunate 
rescue of the crews of the Arctic whaleships in 1897. 

In the fall of 1897 word was received that eight whaleships had 
been wrecked in the Arctic Ocean off Point Barrow, and that their 
crews of 265 men were in imminent danger of starvation. Immediate 
action was necessary, for at the best it did not seem as if relief could 
reach them until the following spring. President McKinley, in the 
great kindness of his heart, was sorely tried as how best to furnish 
succor to the shipwrecked men. He called in heads of departments 
for consultation; and the President's sore problem was solved when 
the Secretary of the Treasury promised him that a revenue cutter 
would be dispatched to the Arctic within 10 days, and that not even 
an additional appropriation would be necessary. All know now with 
what success the Revenue-Cutter Service performed that hazardous 
duty; and if anyone here does not know, I covet the pleasure of 
telling him that our Capt. Commandant Bertholf was one of the three 
chosen from those who quicldy volunteered their services and was, 
therefore, one of the three Revenue-Cutter men who added their 
names to the most select list of the heroes of our country. 

Then, on January 23, 1909, the sinking steamer Republic sent out 
the now famous "C. Q. D." signal of distress; the wireless operator 
on the cutter Gresham, then at anchor in Province town Harbor, heard 
it, and within eight minutes' time she was under way in a dense fog, 
driving at full speed to the rescue of the distressed Republic. She 
was the first vessel to arrive on the scene of the disaster, although 
being compelled to steam through the fog for a distance of over 150 
miles. All will remember that it was this vessel which had the 
distinction of picking up the valiant commander of the Republic from 
the water just after his vessel had gone beneath the waves. The 
commander of the Gresham, who didn't wait an avoidable minute to 
be on his way to that celebrated relief, was Capt. Perry. And no 
gathering of Revenue-Cutter officers ever leaves a speaker without 
the men before him to illustrate his instances of American high 
devotion, of American high courage. 

Only within the past month word came that there were 30 American 
fishing vessels imprisoned in the ice on the bleak Newfoundland 
coast, 850 miles from the nearest revenue cutter. Orders were imme- 
diately issued to the Androscoggin to undertake the difficult task of 
getting to the latitude of Labrador in midwinter, and the captain's 
telegraphic acknowledgment came the same afternoon, announcing 
that his vessel would sail at once. This trip was successfully per- 
formed and adds another remarkable page to the singularly fortunate 
and manful achievements of this ancient and honorable service. 

But what is the sum of its usual and customary activities ? 

It saves an average of 50 human lives each year. Who shall ap- 
praise the value of that work alone? 



388 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It saves marine property from the perils of the sea amounting to 
from $6,000,000 to $10,000,000 every year, whereas the total cost 
of this service to the Government is less than $2,500,000. 

It enforces the navigation laws, immigration laws, neutrality laws, 
and when necessary suppresses mutiny and lawlessness on merchant 
ships. 

Each year it destroys or recovers an average of more than 20 
derelicts, which otherwise would drift about in the paths of our 
coastwise traffic, a constant menace to shipping. 

Does one ever hear these days of smuggling in bulk, save in a few 
remote places? Were it not for the revenue cutters constantly 
patrolling our coasts it is not unreasonable to suppose that large 
amounts of goods would enter in the easiest way. And that, I am 
bound to admit, is not through the customhouse. 

It has turned intercollegiate regattas, international yacht races, 
and similar great aquatic events from disorderly marine rabbles into 
quiet and orderly proceedings, where everyone may witness the 
events and be reasonably sure that life will not be endangered in the 
mad scramble for the points of vantage. 

It has fostered the Life-Saving Service, and has assisted most 
efficiently the able men of that highly honored service in making it 
what it unquestionably is — the model life-saving service of the 
world. 

To-day, and since its purchase, it is and has been the marine 
guardian of the rich territory of Alaska. It has protected the seal 
rookeries from devastation and has carried food and medicine to 
thousands of starving natives and shipwrecked whalers and fishermen. 
It carries the law to the remote places of that remote and immense 
land, and is the only arm of the Government that ever reaches three- 
fourths of the enormous coast line of that important territory. 

It has enforced the marine quarantine regulations in every epidemic 
that has broken out in the coastwise cities. In the yellow-fever out- 
break in 1905 along the shores of the Gulf, the Revenue-Cutter 
Service had five vessels constantly on patrol, and completely pre- 
vented the spread of the scourge, so far as water communication 
was concerned. So that the work of this distinguished — this " ancient 
and honorable" — service is as multifarious as it is efficient. It is 
wonderful it can do so many and such important things; but it has 
the traditions that make men strong and fine. Alexander Hamilton 
did well when he, the greatest of our practical statesmen, estab- 
lished — and established for all time — this wonderful valuable arm 
of the Government. 

The various activities of the Government follow natural lines of 
demarkation rather than the artificial lines drawn by the several 
departments. Therefore, when there is an insufficient amount of 
maritime work in any particular department to warrant the mainte- 
nance of a well-equipped maritime service of its own, it has this work 
done by the Revenue-Cutter Service. And thus this service is 
called upon to perform duties for nearly all the great departments 
of the Government, and in its entirety this organization represents a 
concentration of governmental maritime functions. So that though 
it has always remained a part of the great Treasury Department, as 
Hamilton ordered, it really belongs to all the departments, and in its 
work, both in war and in peace, is as broad as the Government itself. 
It has an individuality — a personality it may almost be said — born 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 389 

of the traditions of over a century's remarkable and intense experience. 
The officers and men of this service are proud of it; proud of its 
history; proud of its over 120 years of achievement; and they have a 
right to be. The Treasury Department is proud of this service, and 
it has a right to be. The whole Government is proud of it, and has a 
right to be. And the people are proud of it — the people know well 
that they have a right to be proud of it. For in the course of the years 
it has come to be one of the most beneficent governmental agencies 
in the world. With the changing times this service, while always 
enlarging its useful duties to the Government in peace and war, has 
also become a protector of the helpless of the seas. This ever- alert 
fleet is the ever- vigilant friend and defender of those for whom there 
is no other help; and no more fearless vessels and no more gallant 
men ever patrolled the oceans in any part of the world. They are an 
honor to their country. They carry their lives in their hands; and 
when they are at rest in a harbor they stand at attention — listening 
for the cries for help. 

My friends, wherever a man sees a revenue cutter he ought to take 
off his hat to it. 



Treasury Department, 

Office of the Secretary, 
Division of Revenue-Cutter Service, 

Washington, February 17, 1912. 
Sir: I have the honor to present the following comments upon the 
report on the Revenue-Cutter Service submitted to the President by 
the Commission on Economy and Efficiency under date of November 
17, 1911, and handed to me January 16, 1912. 

As the recommendation to abolish the Revenue-Cutter Service and 
distribute its duties among other branches of the Government is made, 
as stated, simply "for the purpose of laying this important matter 
before the President" and "raising an important issue in definite 
form," and will doubtless be modified as the result of a proper dis- 
cussion and consideration of the subject, it would seem quite neces- 
sary to examine somewhat thoroughly into the organization, equip- 
ment, functions, and cost of the service, and the matter naturally 
presents itself under the following general heads: 

1. The functions and duties of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 

2. Are they performed economically and efficiently by its present 
organization ? 

3. Can they be performed by the existing equipment of other 
departments ? 

4. If not, will there be a saving in expense or increase in efficiency, 
or both, if the duties and equipment of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
were distributed among the several departments ? 

1. Functions and Duties. 

The Revenue-Cutter Service was originally established in 1790, at 
the second session of the First Congress, upon the recommendation 
of the first Secretary of the Treasury, as the result of the need for 
the services of a coast patrol for the enforcement of the customs laws 
and an organized armed force for the protection of the seacoast — 
there being at that time no Naval Establishment. By evolutionary 



,390 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

processes coincident with the steady growth of the Nation, duties 
have been successively added to this service to meet the ever increas- 
ing demands of the maritime interests in so far as they are connected 
with governmental functions. All governmental activities have 
increased by the same processes so that to-day there are nine great 
departments of the Government, whereas at the beginning there 
were but three. This increase in the number of the departmental 
divisions of the public service was made more on account of the 
greater volume of the work to be performed than from what might 
be termed the natural divisions of governmental work, such, for 
example, as the natural division of the work on the land and the 
work on the sea. Therefore it followed that additional duties on 
the seas were quite appropriately assigned to and performed by the 
Revenue-Cutter Service, as the necessity for them arose, regardless 
of the artificial governmental division or department under which 
this need was made apparent. And there being an insufficient 
amount of such maritime work in each of the several departments 
to warrant the maintenance of a separate service by each, it was 
most natural from an economical and business standpoint to have 
them all performed by an established organization. This fact in 
itself constitutes a legitimate and logical field of activity, and here 
we have that centralization, specialization and coordination which 
experience has amply proved to be the very elements of economy 
and efficiency. And these things have produced the Revenue- 
Cutter Service at it exists to-day, a compact and efficient organiza- 
tion — an emergency service — specializing in the performance of 
governmental maritime duties. In addition to its functions under 
the Treasury Department, quite logically the service is called upon 
by, and accomplishes work of this character for a number of the 
other departments, notably the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, 
and — in a limited degree due to limited needs — for the Department 
of Agriculture. 

Its emergent and principal duties in time of peace, those of saving 
life and assisting distressed vessels at sea, are what might be classed 
as general governmental functions, belonging as much to the Treasury 
Department as any other; in fact such duties belong to the Revenue- 
Cutter Service whether the law specifically states so or not, as in the 
process of governmental evolution they quite naturally fell to this 
organization as the need for them developed, and have always been 
performed by it. The destruction of derelicts comes under this general 
class, only in this particular duty Congress directed specifically that it 
should be performed by the Revenue-Cutter Service, because another 
department had previously been charged with that duty and failed 
to perform it in a manner satisfactory to the maritime and commer- 
cial interests of the country. 

A number of other duties assigned to this service, such as the 
enforcement of navigation laws, the patrolling or policing of regattas, 
the enforcement of anchorage laws, the enforcement of quarantine 
laws, and the patrol of the Bering Sea for the protection of the fur- 
seal industry, might be classified as intermittent duties, and, from 
an economical standpoint, fit in most efficiently with the principal 
duties above enumerated. 

For example, the greater part of the work of saving life and prop- 
erty on the sea occurs in the stormy winter months. During 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 391 

periods of good weather in the winter the cutters board and examine 
vessels and otherwise enforce navigation laws. In the summer 
months occur the great regattas and marine parades which have to 
be regulated and patrolled; the Bering Sea policing — due to the habits 
of the seals — is only necessary during the months from May to 
October. The annual cruise of one vessel along the coast of Alaska, 
in the interests of the Department of Justice, is practicable only in 
the summer months, and the same is true of the cruise made by 
another vessel to the far North, serving the interests of several depart- 
ments — the Treasury, Commence and Labor, Interior, and Justice. 
Nine-tenths of the 110,000 and over motor boats which must be 
kept under Government surveillance are used only during the summer 
months. The service of a first-class cutter to police the distant 
islands beyond the Hawaiian Group — at the request of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture — for the purpose of protecting the bird reserves 
and preventing encroachment by Japanese poachers is also what 
may be termed an intermittent duty that fits in well with the other 
duties of that vessel, and on these cruises the customs laws and 
navigation laws are enforced as occasions serve, and calls for assist- 
ance from vessels and people in distress are always responded to, no 
matter what other duty the vessel is specially charged with. 

On pages 17 and 18 of the report (manuscript) the commission seems 
inclined to believe there is little if any real need for an armed patrol 
for the prevention of smuggling. It is true this form of lawlessness— 
smuggling in bulk — is not common, but this fact is direct evidence 
of the high state of efficiency in which the Revenue-Cutter Service 
has been and is being maintained, and is the result of the accumulated 
deterrent effect of years of vigilant patrol. Lawlessness in any guise 
and in any locality is kept in check only by physical force or the 
presence of such force, and it is clear that without an armed coast 
patrol smuggling would soon spring into existence along our many 
miles of seacoast. 

During all periods of the year and at such times as least to inter- 
fere with the emergent duties of a civil nature, a rigid system of mili- 
tary discipline and training is maintained to fit the personnel for 
cooperation with the Navy in time of war, as the law requires. This 
function of the services has always been of value, since in all wars to 
which the United States has been a party the Government has had at 
hand a naval auxiliary force properly disciplined and trained ready 
to become a part of the regular naval forces simply by the issuance 
of an Executive order. And it is by means of such drills, training, 
and discipline that the service is enabled to maintain its ships and 
personnel in that state of preparedness necessary for the prompt 
performance of its most important civil duties, which, as has been 
stated, are largely of an emergent character. With the foregoing 
general outline of the activities and functions of the Revenue- 
Cutter Service, the second heading will be taken up. 

2. Are They Performed Economically and Efficiextly by its 
Presext Organization ? 

This point was not raised by the commission, it having stated that 
lack of time prevented an intensive examination, but for their pur- 
poses they assumed that it was. Economy and efficiency mean, gen- 
erally, a maximum of results for the minimum of expenditures. All 



392 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

invest nioiits are judged by the dividends paid, so the investment 
which the Government makes annually in the maintenance of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service should be appraised in connection with its 
output. From the great variety of the beneficial acts rendered by 
this service to the public interests it is naturally quite difficult to 
make appraisals in statistical form. But, as before stated, the most 
important of these numerous outputs is the value of the marine prop- 
erty succored. Even in this it is not possible to make a direct com- 
parison, as no similar organization exists under governmental, or 
forsooth, under private organization. As a test, however, of effi- 
ciency and economy, comparison can be made as to the relative cost 
of the maintenance of the service in proportion to the value of marine 
propert}^ saved during certain periods, as for instance, the last four 
fiscal years 1908 to 1911, inclusive, with the corresponding period, a 
decade ago, of the four years 1898 to 1901. From this comparison 
the official statistics show that from 1898 to 1901, an investment of 



$1 in the Revenue-Cutter Service was instrumental in saving $2.39 
of marine property, and that for the past four fiscal years, 1908 to 
1911, an investment of $1 saved $4.43 of the floating property belong- 
ing to the public. This clearly indicates that the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, as at present organized and administered, is progressively 
economical and efficient. If further evidence were needed, recourse 
to the files of the department will show hundreds of commendatory 
letters from shipowners and masters, maritime organizations, etc., 
wherein frequent references are made to the invaluable aid to commerce 
given by this service. The attitude of the public press should also 
be taken into account in appraising the efficiency of a public service 
of any character, as it is through that medium largely that an expres- 
sion of the appreciation or nonappreciation, as the case. may be, of 
what is after all the controlling element, the public, can be deter- 
mined. It is believed that no other branch of the public service 
receives more commendation and less criticism than the Revenue- 
Cutter Service. 



Comparative data — Cost v. Output. 



Year. 


Cost of main- 
tenance. 


Value of prop- 
erty assisted. 


1898 


$1, 066, 478 
1, 040, 594 
1, 229, 337 
1, 256, 550 


$1, 640, 280 
1, 735, 762 
4, 923, 095 


1899 


1900 


1901 


2, 697, 825 






$10,996,962 divided by $4,592,959=$2.39. 
1908 


4, 592, 959 

1, 817, 227 

2, 423, 564 
2, 496, 838 
2, 455, 041 


10, 996, 962 
6, 858, 918 


1909... 


13, 940, 079 

10, 401, 935 

9, 488, 562 


1910 


1911 






$40,089,494 divided by $9,192,670=14.43. 


9, 192, 670 


40, 689, 494 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 393 

By its civil duties, the operations of the Revenue-Cutter Service 
save many times its cost annually, as shown by the foregoing. 
Through its military organization and training the service constitutes 
a valuable naval auxiliary force, as history demonstrates. It will 
thus be seen that the service occupies a peculiarly advantageous 
status from an economical point of view as compared with other 
branches of the Federal service, and has therefore a large balance to 
its credit from each of its dual functions. 

3. Can They be Performed by the Existing Equipment of 
Other Departments? 

In answering this query we must assume : 

(a) That the saving of life, assistance of distressed vessels, destruc- 
tion of derelicts, maintenance of a coast patrol for the prevention of 
smuggling, and the patrol of the Bering Sea, would be performed by 
the Navy. 

(b) That the boarding of vessels in connection with the customs 
laws and the prevention of smuggling in ports would be performed by 
the Treasury Department. 

(c) That the enforcement of navigation laws, patrolling of regattas, 
maintenance of anchorage patrol, etc., would be performed by the 
Department of Commerce and Labor. 

(d) That the Department of Justice would maintain its own vessel 
for court and other duties in Alaska. 

(e) That the Department of the Interior would maintain a vessel 
for its work in connection with the Bureau of Education in Alaska. 

{f) That the Department of Agriculture would maintain a vessel 
to protect the bird life on the Laysan and Lisiansky Islands, and for 
the enforcement of game laws in Alaska. 

Considering these assumptions in the above order, we find in looking 
at the facts in each case the following conditions existing: 

(a) The Navy Department is not prepared to assume any additional 
work other than that which it is now performing, owing to a lack of 
ships of the size necessary for the efficient and economical performance 
of the work which it is assumed that it would be called upon to per- 
form in the event of the abolition of the Revenue-Cutter Service. 
Further, it has not sufficient officers and men to man such vessels y 
even if they had the vessels. In support of this assertion, reference 
is made to the report of the Secretary of the Navy for the fiscal year 
1911, pages 36, 40, 47, and 50, wherein is discussed lack of ships of 
this class and lack of personnel. In addition, it will be recalled that 
upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury, with the 
approval of the Secretary of the Navy, Congress, in the sundry civil 
bill approved May 27, 1908, authorized the transfer of the gunboat 
Vicksburg to the Revenue-Cutter Service. Repeated applications for 
the transfer of this vessel since then have been made to the Navy 
Department, and on each occasion it has been denied on the grounds 
that the Navy Department could not spare her, owing to the lack of 
vessels of her type and class, and finally, on March 30, 1909, the Navy 
Department stated that it could not foresee the time when this vessel 
could be spared. 

(b) The Treasury Department has no vessels with which to board 
incoming merchant and passenger vessels other than the small revenue 



394 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

cut tors which are now performing this work. There are also no vessels 
available for the patrol necessary to prevent smuggling in ports other 
than the existing cutters. Consequently, the smaller vessels of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service would have to be retained by the Treasury 
Department for these duties. 

(c) The Department of Commerce and Labor now maintains four 
distinct and separate fleets for the performance of special duties, as 
follows: Vessels for the Lighthouse Service; vessels for the Coast 
Survey; vessels for the Fish Commission; vessels for the Immigration 
Service. 

It is very evident that these vessels have sufficient work in these 
special duties to occupy their entire time, or otherwise the Revenue- 
Cutter Service would not be called upon to perform various duties 
for this department. Further evidence that the department is not 
equipped for the performance of these duties comes from the fact 
that it now asks and receives from Congress a special appropriation 
each year of $15,000 to hire or purchase motor boats to assist in 
enforcing navigation laws, etc., principally in shoal waters inacces- 
sible to revenue cutters. 

In order to accomplish all the duties which the Revenue-Cutter 
Service now performs for the Department of Commerce and Labor it 
would be necessary for that department to build up another special 
service, in addition to the four it now possesses. 

(d) The Department of Justice has no vessels of its own, and in the 
event of the abolition of the Revenue-Cutter Service (the Navy or 
no other department having available vessels to detail for such duty) 
it would be neccessary for that department to maintain a vessel of 
its own to perform practically three months' duty each summer in 
Alaskan waters. 

(e) The previous statement applies with equal force to the condi- 
tions in the Department of the Interior. 

(/) The same applies to the Department of Agriculture. 

Having shown that the duties of the Revenue-Cutter Service can 
not be performed by the existing equipment of other departments, it 
is pertinent to inquire: 

4. Will There Be a Saving in Expense or an Increase in 
Efficiency, or both, if the Duties and Equipment of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service Were Distributed Among the 
Several Departments ? 

Considering this question in the same order as outlined under the 
third heading, we find : 

(a) If the Navy should assume the tasks of assisting vessels in dis- 
tress, patrolling Bering Sea, destroying derelicts, etc., it would have 
to use vessels of the gunboat class — craft in size and general charac- 
teristics similar to the revenue cutters of the first class — and having 
none to spare, would require the large revenue cutters transferred for 
the purpose. A comparison of the relative costs of maintenance and 
operation (including repairs) of groups of vessels of the Navy and 
Revenue-Cutter Service of approximately the same size and charac- 
teristics, covering a period of the last three fiscal years, shows that 
the average naval vessel of this class costs $134,445.99 per annum 
and the average revenue cutter $84,552.13. In order to secure 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 395 

greater accuracy in this comparison of cost the same has been reduced 
to a unit, and it is found that the "cost of maintenance and opera- 
tion per ton of displacement per annum" is $127.84 in the Navy and 
$83.47 in the Revenue-Cutter Service. 1 This shows that the cost of 
maintenance and operation is 53.2 per cent greater in the Navy than 
in the Revenue-Cutter Service for vessels of similar size and type. 

(b) The boarding of vessels in connection with the customs laws 
and the prevention of smuggling in port could be performed by the 
Treasury Department with that portion of the equipment of the 
Revenue-Cutter Service now used for such duties. These small 
vessels are operated as economically as possible consistent with the 
requirements of the duties performed. Under the proposition that 
each department should do its own work, these Treasury craft could 
perform no service in connection with the enforcement of naviga- 
tion laws, patrol of regattas, etc., which they now do, hence they 
would not be operated as efficiently as at present. 

(c) As previously stated, the Department of Commerce and Labor 
has no vessels with which to enforce navigation laws, patrol regatta 
courses, enforce anchorage laws, etc. There would be none of the 
existing revenue-cutter fleet available for this department, as all 
would be either transferred to the Navy or retained by the Treasury. 
Therefore it would be necessary to establish and build up another 
special fleet to perform these particular duties. These vessels with 
their personnel would be in addition to the existing equipment of 
the Revenue-Cutter Service, and in consequence there would neces- 
sarily be a decided increase in cost, as compared with the present 
conditions. 

(d), (e), and (/) The same applies with equal force to the Depart- 
ments of Justice, Interior, and Agriculture. 

There would be no economy in the proposed distribution of duties 
and equipment. On the contrary there would be, if the work were 
done as well, a decided increase in cost, as the following will 
demonstrate. 

The average annual cost of a revenue cutter of the first class is 
$84,000, in round numbers. It costs 50 per cent more (in round 
numbers) to operate such a vessel in the Navy. Therefore if the 20 

1 In making this comparison of costs there is no intention to criticize the Navy Department. It is believed 
that the greater part of the increased cost is due to the larger crews of the naval vessels. Gunboats are 
maintained more or less on a war footing, and the average complement of the naval vessels upon which 
the comparison was made consists of 8 commissioned officers and 148 men; whereas the average complement 
of first-class revenue cutters is 7 commissioned officers and 63 men. There is good reason for this difference 
in complement. For naval vessels the size of the crews depends largely upon the number oi guns to be 
manned; revenue cutters having smaller batteries obviously do not require so many men, and therefore the 
size of their crews is based upon a sufficient number to handle the vessel and man the boats for rescue work. 

There is a greater number of men in proportion to officers in the Navy than in the Revenue-Cutter 
Service, and this must necessarily be so, since a naval vessel is maintained more or less on a war footing, 
whereas a revenue cutter presents a skeleton military organization, which, while capable of being imme- 
diately expanded to lull war strength when necessary', requires only a small crew for the ordinary duties of 
peace. When war breaks out and the revenue cutters cooperate with the Navy and are used solely for 
military duties the crews are immediately increased, but the number of officers remains the same, with 
possibly an addition of one officer for each first-class vessel. There must always be a certain number of 
officers for a seagoing vessel — no matter what her size, there must be a captain, officers to stand the watches 
on deck and officers to stand the watches in the engine room, and this quota of officers is as necessary for 
a 1,000-ton ship as for a 3,000-ton vessel, so that the number of officers does not depend upon the number 
of the crew nor upon the size oi the vessel, but rather upon the duties to be performed which are common 
to all ships. Men who stand responsible watches in charge of the deck or machinery should not be required 
to be on active duty more than 8 hours in each 24— that is, two watches of 4 hours each. The captain 
upon whom the responsibility of the entire ship devolves is supposed to be on duty at all times, as he is 
liable to be called at any moment; hence he stands no watch. It will thus be seen that the complement 
of 7 officers carried on revenue cutters (1 captain, 3 officers for deck duty, and 3 officers for engineering 
duty) represents the actual necessities on all seagoing ships of this class, whether in peace or in war. An 
extra officer could be employed very advantageously on first-class cutters, if we had them, as military 
discipline and drills are kept up at sea as well as in port, but this duty is now performed in addition to the 
regular watch duty. 



396 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

first-class revenue cutters were transferred to the Navy Department, 
as proposed by the commission, and operated by that department, 
there would be an annual increase in cost of $840,000. 

For the second and third class cutters and launches which would 
have to be retained by the Treasury Department in the proposed 
distribution of the fleet, there would be neither increase nor decrease 
in cost if this fleet were administered as economically as at present. 

For the Department of Commerce and Labor to perform all of the 
duties of enforcing navigation laws, patrolling regattas, enforcing 
anchorage laws, etc., it has been shown that, having no vessels of its 
own for such purposes and there being no revenue cutters remaining 
to be transferred to it, a new fleet would have to be created for these 
exclusive duties. Estimating very conservatively, that depart- 
ment would need not less than 15 small vessels for this work. The 
average annual cost of maintenance of each vessel could not possibly 
be less than $15,000 per annum, and this would mean an additional 
annual cost of at least $225,000, without considering the cost of 
purchasing or building such vessels. 

Under the most conservative estimate, it would cost the Interior 
Department, Department of Justice, and the Department of Agri- 
culture not less than $20,000 per annum each to maintain vessels 
for the performance of the duties now accomplished for these depart- 
ments by the Revenue-Cutter Service in addition to its other duties. 
This would mean an increase in annual expenditures on the part of 
the Government of $60,000, exclusive of the purchase price of such 
vessels. 

Recapitulation of estimated increase in annual cost if the recommendations of the Commis- 
sion on Economy and Efficiency are carried into effect. 

On account of vessels transferred to the Navy Department $840, 000. 00 

On account of vessels required by the Department of Commerce and 

Labor ... 225, 000. 00 

On account of vessels required by the Departments of Justice, Interior, 

and Agriculture 60, 000. 00 

Total increase 1, 125, 000. 00 

And this does not include any administrative expense nor the cost 
of building or purchasing the additional vessels that would be re- 
quired. 

RESUME. 

The various duties that have been assigned to the Revenue-Cutter 
Service must be performed — the public interests demand them and 
the law requires them. The issue raised by the commission there- 
fore resolves itself into the following: 

Can these duties best be accomplished by one organization like 
the Revenue-Cutter Service or by several organizations — each in a 
separate department ? 

It has been shown that as the country grew and developed, the 
maritime functions and obligations of the Government increased, 
and as different departments had cognizance of the various duties 
growing out of these obligations, there was an insufficient amount of 
such maritime work in each of the several departments to warrant 
the maintenance of a separate service by each. Quite logically, 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 397 

therefore, these duties were successively added to the Revenue-Cut- 
ter Service, until to-day its functions relate to maritime matters in 
almost all of the departments of the Government. A close analysis 
of these duties will disclose the fact that while none of them indi- 
vidually requires constant attention, all of them are of such a coordi- 
nate nature as to permit them to be accomplished satisfactorily by 
one organization. 

As has been pointed out, this fact constitutes a legitimate and 
logical field of activity, and permits centralization, specialization, 
and coordination — the elementary principles of economy and effi- 
ciency. Under these conditions and upon these principles the 
Revenue-Cutter Service has developed — it has profited by its 122 
years of experience — until to-day it exists as a compact organization 
representing a concentration of governmental maritime functions, 
administered economically and efficiently. 

To disband this organization and distribute its duties and equip- 
ment among the several departments, as proposed by the Commission 
on Economy and Efficiency, would inevitably result in the establish- 
ment of several services, each under a separate organization and 
administration, with all the confusion and expenses incident to the 
formation of any organization as it passes through the transitory 
stage necessary for the perfection of the system. Each of these 
services would require as many vessels as the Revenue-Cutter Service 
now periodically uses for that particular class of duty, if the same 
results are to be obtained. As none of these services could use the 
vessels or do the work of another service (otherwise the object sought 
in the proposed distribution would be lost), this would necessitate a 
far greater number of vessels in the several services than is now 
needed by the Revenue-Cutter Service for the accomplishment of 
all these duties. All this would result in confusion and lack of 
coordination, which means inefficiency and duplication of equipment 
and administration, entailing under the most conservative estimate an 
additional annual expense of at least $1,125,000. 
Respectfully, 

E. P. Bertholf, 

Captain Commandant. 

The Secretary of the Treasury. 



APPENDIX No. 4 



ACCOUNTING OFFICES OF THE TREASURY, WITH RECOMMEN- 
DATIONS FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE SIX 
AUDITORS' OFFICES INTO ONE OFFICE 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 26 399 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Recommendations 401 

EXHIBITS. 

1C. Table showing number of employees and salaries under appropriation for 

1912, and proposed for 1913 409 

2C. History of accounting system of Government, 1789 to 1894. 410 

Comment of the Dockery Commission 412 

Law reorganizing the accounting offices of the Treasury 415 

400 



ACCOUNTING OFFICES OF THE TREASURY, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS 
FOR THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE SIX AUDITORS' OFFICES INTO 
ONE OFFICE. 



November 17, 1911. 
The President: 

The commission has given consideration to the organization and 
methods of work of the so-caUed accounting offices of the Treasury. 
The accounting officers include the Comptroller of the Treasury and 
the six Auditors of the Treasury. They are the auditing officers in 
the executive branch of the Government, who receive all claims 
against and accounts with the United States for examination and 
final settlement. 

Through many changes the accounting system, as far as it relates 
to the final audit of accounts in the Treasury, passed from the organi- 
zation provided in 1789 of one auditor and one comptroUer to an 
organization in 1817 of five auditors and two comptrollers; to six 
auditors and two comptrollers in 1836 and six auditors and three 
comptrollers in 1849 (considering the commissioner of customs as a 
comptroUer) ; and finally, in 1894, to six auditors and one comp- 
troller. 

In the opinion of the commission the organization would be much 
improved by a return to the original nlan of one auditor and one 
comptroller. This change would result in some immediate saving of 
expense, estimated at about $60,000 per annum (see Exhibit No. 1 C), 
and in a large increase in the efficiency of the service. After the 
first year the annual saving over the present cost should be more 
than $100,000. At the present time there are seven naval officers 
who audit customs accounts at the principal ports. By making these 
officers assistant auditors of the Treasury an additional saving of 
$75,000 per annum can be made. 

The advantages of having one auditor in place of six, and of making 
the naval officers assistant auditors, are set forth in this report. 

The commission recommends : 

(1) That the offices of the six Auditors of the Treasury be abolished 
and the office of " Auditor of the Treasury" be created, to which 
there shaU be transferred the authority, powers, and duties now 
conferred upon the six auditors. 

(2) That the seven naval officers, now auditing customs accounts at 
the principal ports, be made assistant auditors of the Treasury. 

The present organization of the accounting offices of the Treasury 
was provided for in the act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat., 205). That 
law was passed upon the recommendation of a joint commission of 
Congress commonly known as the Dockery Commission. An his- 
torical review of the various laws organizing and reorganizing the 
accounting system of the Treasury, as well as the reasons that led 

401 



402 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY, 

that commission to recommend the change made in 1894, are set 
forth in Exhibit No. 2 C herewith. As a part of that exhibit and 
for convenient reference the law of 1S94 is included. 

All administrative departments and establishments of the Govern- 
ment have certain duties in connection with governmental accounting. 
Their accounting is performed as an aid to the management of the 
business intrusted to them and for the purpose of recording informa- 
tion needed in making required reports. The Treasury accounting is 
more properly called auditing and has to do with the final audit and 
filing and preservation of accounts evidencing all expenditures of the 
Government. Most of the administrative departments and estab- 
lishments are required by law to make an administrative examination 
of accounts before their transmission to the auditors. So far as this 
relates to the examination of disbursing officers' accounts it is intended 
as a means by which all officials charged with authorizing the incurring 
of liabilities and payment of money in settlement thereof may enforce 
economy and prevent wasteful practices. The departments may 
discipline their purchasing agents or other subordinates and by 
appropriate instructions may prevent improper practices in the 
future. This jurisdiction is not given to the accounting officers of 
the Treasury whose audit of accounts serves another purpose. If an 
administrative officer in the course of the administrative examination 
approves an item in excess of the limit fixed by law or in payment of 
an obligation not authorized by law, the item is disallowed by the 
accounting officer at the Treasury. It is a recognition of this fact 
(that the accounting officers have no discretionary or equitable 
powers) that causes Congress to place more and more detailed restric- 
tions in the laws. If such restrictions are overlooked or ignored by 
administrative officers, it is the duty of the accounting officers to 
enforce them. 

The six Auditors of the Treasury receive and examine govermental 
accounts over which they have jurisdiction and certify the balances 
arising thereon. As a rule questions of law involved in their auditing 
work are settled by a decision of the comptroller ; for the law requires 
that an auditor, when making an original construction of a statute 
or modifying an existing construction, shall report his decision to 
the comptroller for approval, disapproval, or modification before 
taking action upon the items affected thereby, and that he shall 
follow the ruling of the comptroller. In addition, the comptroller 
renders advance decisions to disbursing officers and heads of depart- 
ments in reference to accounts to be paid by disbursing officers, and 
such decisions govern the auditors and comptroller in passing upon 
items affected by such decisions. Since 1894, as well as prior to 
that date, the auditors have not been charged with the decision of 
legal questions. Prior to 1894 this was a duty of the comptrollers 
and since then it is a duty of the one comptroller. Uniformity of 
decision upon controverted or doubtful questions of law was an 
object sought by the change made by the law of 1894 in providing 
for but one comptroller and relieving him of the detailed revision of 
accounts. 

It is true that the auditors are required to pass upon the sufficiency 
of evidence presented in support of claims for the payment of money 
and claims for credit upon accounts paid by disbursing officers. 
This duty is in a large measure a matter of routine action, dependent 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 403 

upon the practice and precedents in similar cases. It is a duty per- 
formed almost entirely by clerks and chiefs of division. This practi- 
cal delegation of authority to act for and in the name of the auditor 
is necessary because of the volume of work. 

In 1894, when the six auditors then connected with the account- 
ing system of the Treasury were continued by the law of that year, 
their jurisdiction over accounts was changed as a matter of con- 
venience and good administration so that the Auditor for the Treas- 
ury Department, the Auditor for the War Department, the Auditor 
for the Interior Department, the Auditor for the Navy Department, 
and the Auditor for the Post Office Department have jurisdiction 
over the accounts relating to the executive departments indicated by 
their titles. The Auditor for the State and Other Departments has 
jurisdiction over the accounts of the Departments of State, Justice, 
Agriculture, and Commerce and Labor, and all accounts not within 
the jurisdiction of any of the other auditors, but the volume of the 
work in his office is not as large as might be inferred from the fact 
that he settles the accounts of so many departments. 

The number of employees in the auditors' offices and the appro- 
priations for payment of salaries for the fiscal year 1895 and the 
fiscal year 1912 are as follows: 



Auditor for the- 



Treasury Department 

War Department 

Interior Department 

Navy Department 

State and. Other Departments 
Post Office Department 



Number of 
employees. 



80 
219 
121 

50 

57 
447 



974 



Salaries. 



1912 



Number of 
employees. 



$116,400 

301, 500 

156, 980 

68, 080 

82, 720 

517, 540 



1, 243, 220 



112 
246 
113 
101 
82 
671 



1,325 



Salaries. 



$152, 650 
336, 750 
156, 850 
137, 590 
118, 510 
729. 490 



1, 631, 840 



The increase in the number of employees has been 36 per cent and 
the increase in expense for salaries less than 24 per cent during the 
17 years. The expenditures of the Government have grown 100 per 
cent, from $500,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 per annum. While the 
fact that the expenditures have doubled should not, of course, cause 
a proportionate increase in the cost of auditing accounts, it is evident 
that the prediction that the reorganization of the accounting system 
of the Treasury, as provided in the act of 1894, would hasten the 
settlement of accounts and simplify the methods and so make the 
auditing of Government expenditures more economical, has been 
amply justified. 

In 1817, when five auditors in the Treasury were provided for, it 
would have been possible for each auditor to personally examine to 
some extent every voucher and claim coming into his ofiice. Now 
with six auditors, the volume of business coming before their offices 
being increased one hundredfold, it is impossible for them to examine 
vouchers and claims at all. The laws, regulations, and precedents 
governing the work of auditing accounts have become so well estab- 
lished that it may be said that probably 95 per cent of the work 



404 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

presents no new problems. Many expenditures are in character the 
same from month to month and from year to year; the audit of the 
vouchers evidencing such expenditures may be said to involve only 
mathematical calculations and the stating of the balance found due 
from the disbursing officer. There are many fee accounts and claims 
of various kinds that involve the determination of questions of fact 
and the application of general principles of law, but these do not rep- 
resent more than a small percentage of the total volume of auditing 
work. 

Under these conditions it is evident that more and more has the 
actual work of auditing been taken from the auditor in person and 
passed down to chiefs of divisions and clerks until, at the present time, 
the auditor is an administrator rather than an officer exercising 
judicial functions. His office suspends and disallows items in ac- 
counts. The auditor can not, or does not as a rule, even see the 
disallowance sheets upon which, and in his name, the decisions upon 
the rights of claimants are made. If in past years in an exceptional 
case an auditor has given close personal attention to the duties of 
his office, it has only been as a result of long study that he has become 
familiar with any considerable part of the detail of the work carried 
on in his office. In view of the fact that the existing construction 
of statutes and the legal precedents as established by the comptroller 
must be followed by an audtior, it is questionable whether, if the 
latter officer did become familiar with the details of the work, his 
personal attention to the examination and settlement of individual 
accounts would be of more value to the Government than the action 
of experienced chiefs of division and clerks who are permanently in 
the service. 

It is well known that the duties of the accounting officers of the 
Treasury, in contemplation of law, are quasi judicial. Prior to 1894 r 
when all settlements by auditors (except those of the Auditor for the 
Post Office Department) were revised by one of the comptrollers, the 
action of the auditor was not conclusive as to either the law or the 
facts. Upon both the law and the facts the comptrollers acted 
independently of the views and conclusions of the auditor. The 
comptrollers were certainly officers exercising quasi judicial functions, 
although the auditors were not. Since 1894 the balances certified 
by the auditors are final and conclusive upon the executive branch 
of the Government unless the settlements are revised by the comp- 
troller. Upon the latter's revision the decision arrived at becomes 
that of the comptroller alone, and is likewise conclusive. If a settle- 
ment is not revised the auditor's action involves the exercise of 
judicial functions so far as a decision upon the facts is concerned. 
As to the law, he is guided by former specific decisions of the comp- 
troller, or precedents established by a comptroller, or submits the 
question of law involved in a new construction of a statute to the 
comptroller for decision. 

While an auditor decides some question of fact in each claim and 
voucher which he passes for payment or credit, the decision is largely 
routine and in the nature of things must be made by a subordinate 
and not by the auditor himself. It may be stated as a general propo- 
sition that an auditor is not personally called upon to decide a ques- 
tion of law except as he does so in order to get the question before 
the comptroller for authoritative decision. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 405 

The duties of the auditors consist largely in the supervision of the 
work done by their clerical employees. The decisions of chiefs of 
division and of senior clerks are of importance to the proper auditing 
of public accounts. They must be familiar with the law and with 
the decisions of the comptroller and the courts; with the precedents 
and rulings on evidence established by long practice in their office; 
and they necessarily develop, through a process of accumulative 
assimilation, the ability to pass upon the sufficiency of the evidence 
offered in support of claims and accounts settled by them. Upon 
them must and does fall the responsibility for the accuracy and con- 
sistency of the work. 

The fact that the accounts to be audited by the six auditors are 
those relating to different executive departments neither justifies nor 
requires the services of six auditors. One of them, the Auditor for the 
State and other departments, settles the accounts of four executive 
departments and also the accounts of Congress and of independent 
executive establishments, such as the Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion, the Civil Service Commission, Smithsonian Institution, etc. If 
there were any advantage in having a large number of auditors in 
order that each might settle the accounts of one department, it might 
logically be argued that there should be 10 or more auditors. 

At the present time the offices of the auditors are of varying sizes. 
The smallest office, that of the Auditor for the State and other depart- 
ments, has but 82 employees, while the largest, that of the Auditor for 
the Post Office Department, has 671 employees. The other offices 
have 246, 113, 112, and 101 employees. The division of the duty of 
auditing the governmental accounts between six auditors does not 
give to each the supervision and direction of an equal number of 
employees nor place upon each office responsibility for an equal 
amount of work. The division according to departments of the 
Government is made to facilitate current and subsequent reference to 
records, and is not according to classes of work or volume of work. 
If an attempt were made to divide all the auditing equally among six 
offices it is certain that other considerations, such as the relation of 
various classes of work to other classes, and the method of handling 
particular kinds of accounts by the use of mechanical and other 
devices, would have to be given some attention. At best such a 
division would be only approximately equal for a very short time, 
since the volume of business in different departments of the Govern- 
ment is constantly changing from year to year, and the resultant 
volume. of financial transactions reaching the auditors increases and 
decreases correspondingly. 

The advantages of combining under one officer all the auditing 
forces now employed in the six offices are many. The most important 
ones are: 

1. The use of the combined force of employees on the work that 
most needs attention which can not now be accomplished as the 
employees are in six different bureaus, under six distinct and coordi- 
nate jurisdictions. 

2. The bringing together of the work of handling the personnel; 
the handling of supplies; the adjustment of transportation accounts; 
the legal work; messenger work, etc. 

3. The establishment of satisfactory efficiency records, so that 
employees would have wider opportunity for advancement in knowl- 
edge and consequent promotion. 



406 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

4. Tliolisc of each employee on the class of work for which he is 
best fitted. 

5. The extension of the use of labor-saving and other mechanical 
devices, and improving the methods of handling and filing vouchers. 

6. Uniformity of procedure in the settlement of accounts and the 
stating of balances and uniformity of method in the doing of all work 
of the same kind. 

As to the first advantage, one or more auditors may have their work 
up to date and be able to keep it up without difficulty, while one or 
more of the other auditors are behind because of lack of clerical help 
or for other reasons, which are often but temporary. An efficient 
handling of a force of 1,200 employees would certainly keep all the 
work of auditing more nearly current and tend to prevent the neces- 
sity for increases of force to take care of temporary increases of par- 
ticular classes of work in one office while competent clerks are avail- 
able, at the same time, in another office. 

As to the second advantage, it is entirely clear that with each of 
the six offices attending to the handling of personnel, to the receipt 
and distribution of supplies, the settlement of transportation accounts, 
the legal work, the messenger service, etc., there is a lack of economy 
and a loss of efficiency because these classes of work are of the same 
nature for all of the offices, and can be better done under the super- 
vision of one officer. The uniformity of settlement that is desirable, 
and the training of a special force to handle claims for transportation 
of persons and property, for instance, can without question be accom- 
plished by placing this class of work in the hands of one group of 
employees in the immediate charge of one properly qualified chief. 
Accuracy of settlement will lead to economy and to the securing of 
the best methods and rates for, Government transportation. 

It would seem that authority should be conferred upon the auditor 
to prescribe, with the approval of the Comptroller of the Treasury, 
suitable rules to govern the routing and classification of all gov- 
ernmental property and purchases which may be or become subject 
to transportation. Such rules when issued, in the form of a current 
reference book, to those departmental employees whose duty it is 
to prepare Government property for shipment, can be made the means 
of saving annually many thousands of dollars which are now being 
paid unnecessarily because of indifference to or ignorance of the 
terms of commercial description of articles to be shipped by the 
many employees of the Government charged with such duties. 

The same purpose of uniformity,. productive of economy and greater 
efficiency, can be attained by consolidating the force engaged on the 
other classes of work referred to. 

As to the third advantage, it is evident that the wider the oppor- 
tunity for employees to earn promotion the greater is the incentive 
to all to become more proficient and consequently more valuable to 
the service. 

As to the fourth advantage, it is certain that in one office of 1,200 
employees the special ability of each employee can be better availed 
of than in an office of 100 employees, and especially if the latter 
office has but little work of the kind for which a particular employee 
is qualified. 

As to the fifth advantage, it is common experience that a small 
office can not afford to secure and economically use, or if it does 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 407 

secure it can not fully use, all those modern mechanical appliances 
that enable many classes of work to be performed in an economical 
manner. In a large office such appliances can be procured and 
regularly used to the limit of their capacity. New ones may also be 
added from time to time as they appear on the market, and are then 
available for trial and use in every class of work in which they may 
seem to be valuable. The methods of handling vouchers (such as 
requiring when practicable that they be sent in unfolded) and plans 
for filing of accounts, should be uniform and best adapted to rapid 
work and ready reference. 

As to the sixth advantage, it is necessary to refer only to the fact 
that the six auditors are each at the head of an independent bureau 
or office; that each is virtually supreme in the conduct of his own 
office; that in the methods of doing the work required in order to 
arrive at and state his conclusions he is by law, and in fact ought 
to be, independent of the direction and control of any superior; that 
such a division between independent officers of the duty of perform- 
ing one work — the audit of the governmental accounts — must and 
does result in practically six methods, differing to a greater or less 
extent, of doing the same thing, and with no authority to make the 
procedure and practice uniform. The amount and character of evi- 
dence required to establish a demand for payment, or for credit, is 
determined by the auditor only; and in this determination he is not 
subject to the control or direction of the Comptroller of the Treasury 
or of the Secretary of the Treasury. In one office a claim may be dis- 
allowed because of insufficient proof, although the same claim would 
be allowed in another office upon the proof submitted if it were within 
its jurisdiction. Only by having allof the auditing work done by one 
auditor can uniformity of decision and of practice and procedure be 
attained, and such uniformity is greatly to be desired. 

The diversity of ruling upon the amount and character of evidence, 
as well as conflict of decision upon questions of law, were evils 
intended to be corrected by the act of 1894 by the method of establish- 
ing one comptroller in place of three. The same end can be attained 
in the auditing offices, which now finally settle (without revision by 
the comptroller) practically all the governmental accounts, only by 
the substitution of one auditor for six. A competent auditor can 
determine all the questions that necessarily come to him for decision 
and can establish rules of procedure and methods of work that will 
promote, in a large degree, both economy and efficiency. 

Based in part upon the estimates made by the Treasury Depart- 
ment, and in part upon the conclusions reached by the commission, 
we think it a conservative statement that the auditing of accounts can 
be more efficiently done during the fiscal year 1913 with the expendi- 
ture of about $60,000 less than the appropriations for the fiscal year 
1912. The schedule hereto attached shows the positions and salaries 
provided for in the appropriation act for 1912 and the proposed posi- 
tions and salaries for one office in place of the six. It will be noticed 
that an increase is recommended in the position of chief of division. 
Such an employee would have charge of a force as large as that now 
in an auditor's office. An increase is also suggested for chiefs of sec- 
tions who would be in direct charge of groups of 20 to 100 or more 
employees. The salaries recommended are very moderate for employ- 
ees having the experience and ability needed to fill the positions 



408 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

named. It is to be expected that after the first year an efficient ad- 
ministration of the one office would result in additional saving of 
expense, so that the annual cost of the audit of accounts would be at 
least $100,000 less than at present. 

Having thus an organization of more than 1,200 employees in the 
classified service, it is evident that the auditor and assistant auditor 
should be selected for their familiarity with the accounting work of 
the Government, and such positions should be open in the future to 
those in the classified service who prove their ability to supervise and 
direct the auditing work. 

This consolidation of the auditing forces has been heretofore recom- 
mended by the Secretary of the Treasury, and was referred to in the 
President's annual message sent to the Congress in December, 1910. 

The commission is firmly convinced of the desirability of consoli- 
dation and recommends it for the reasons hereinbefore set forth, as 
being in the interests of both economy and efficiency. 

There is another matter connected with the audit of public accounts 
that received the attention of the Dockery Commission in 1894 and 
has since that date been discussed at various times. The method of 
auditing the revenues from customs duties is in fact an exception to 
the general rule regarding the audit of governmental accounts. The 
revenues from the ports of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Balti- 
more, Chicago, New Orleans, and San Francisco, amounting to about 
$300,000,000 annually, are audited only by the naval officers at those 
ports. The Auditor for the Treasury Department receives the reports 
of revenues collected but does not receive the evidence upon which he 
can determine the correctness of the reports. The commission is of 
the opinion that the naval officers, who perform the duties of auditors, 
but are subordinates of the department administering the customs 
laws, should be assistant auditors of the Treasury, and with their 
employees form a part of the force of the Auditor of the Treasury, 
although not located in the main office at Washington. The bringing 
of the final audit of all governmental accounts to the auditor, and 
giving to him the management and control of all such work, is a 
change much to be desired. The present Auditor for the Treasury 
estimates a saving of $75,000 would be accomplished by this change. 
The commission believes the estimate is conservative, but, aside from 
the question of saving money from salaries, the increase in the effi- 
ciency of the audit is of great importance and would probably result 
in the collection of additional revenues. 

The commission has not yet been able to give to the general subject 
of the audit of the revenues from all sources sufficient examination to 
determine to what extent or in what manner the accounting officers 
of the Treasury should have enlarged powers, in the auditing, and the 
methods employed in collecting, the public revenues. The subject is 
one of great importance and it is the intention of the commission, after 
a complete investigation, to submit a report upon the sources of the 
public revenues, the methods employed in their collection, as well as 
the ascertainment of the amount due, and the procedure by which the 
accounting officers may know that all the revenues to which the Gov- 
ernment is entitled are being collected and accounted for. At the 
present time the evidence these officers have, in many cases at least, 
is only the statement of the officer collecting and depositing the rev- 
enue. ~ A careful study of the subject will, it is thought, result in 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 409 

recommendations to provide the means for a more efficient audit and 
determination of the fact as to whether or not any part of the revenues 
and debts due to the Government are lost through carelessness, indif- 
ference, or faulty methods. 
Respectfully submitted. 

F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

W. W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
Harvey S. Chase. 
M. O. Chance, 

Secretary. 

Exhibit No. 1 C. 

Comparative table showing in detail the employees and salaries provided for under appro- 
priation for 1912, and proposed for 1913. 



Under present organization appropriation, fiscal 
year 1912. 


Under proposed consolidation appropriation, fiscal 
year 1913. 




No. 


Annual 

salary. 


Total. 




No. 


Annual T t , 
salary. : iotaL 




1 
5 

1 
1 
1 

5 
4 
12 

4 


$5, 000 
4,000 
3,000 
3,000 
2,750 

2,250 
2,250 
2,000 

2,000 


$5,000 

20,000 

3,000 

3,000 

2,750 

11,250 

9.000 

24,000 

8,000 




20 


$6,000 i $6,000 


Do 


Assistant and chief clerk 


4,000 4,000 
3,000 3,000 






Chief accountant 

Chief of division 


3.000 3,000 


Expert accountant 


2.500 15,000 
2,250 45,000 




Additional to disburs- 


Chief of division 




600 


Do 








Assistant chief of divi- 
sion 










34 ! 


86.000 


30 


76, 600 


Law clerks 


5 
4 
119 
187 
225 
257 
120 
83 


2,000 
2,000 
1,800 
1,600 
1,400 
1,200 
1,000 
900 


10, 000 
8,000 
214, 200 
299, 200 
315,000 
308, 400 
120, 000 

74, 700 


2 
4 
125 
180 
210 
240 
120 
80 


2,400 4.800 


Principal bookkeepers... 
Clerks, class 4 


Principal bookkeepers.. 


2,000 
1,800 
1,600 
1,400 
1,200 
1,000 
900 


8,000 
225, 000 


Clerks, class 3 




288, 000 


Clerks, class 2 




294, 000 


Clerks, class 1 




288,000 


Clerks, class B 




120, 000 


Clerks, class A 




72, 000 










1,000 




1,349,500 


961 




1,299,800 


Skilled laborers 


2 

1 

6 

8 

36 

15 

25 

84 

59 

7 

17 

4 

5 

1 


1,000 
900 
840 
720 
660 
840 
780 
720 
660 
840 
720 
480 
360 
480 
240 


2.000 
900 

5,040 

5,760 
23, 760 
12, 600 
19, 500 
60,480 
38,940 

5,880 
12, 240 

1,920 

1.800 
480 

5.040 


2 

1 

6 

8 

36 

15 

25 

84 

59 

17 
4 
5 
1 

21 


1,000 
900 
840 
720 
660 
840 
780 


2,000 


Do 


Do 


90O 


Do 


Do 


5,040 


Do 


Do 


5,760 






23,760 
12, 60O 
19.500 


Monev-order assorters . . . 
Do 


Money-order assorters.. 
Do 


Do 


Do 


720 | 60,480 
660 | 38,940 
840 5,880 
720 12,240 
480 1,920 
360 1,800 
480 1 480 


Do 


Do 






Assistant messengers 


Assistant messengers. . . 


Do 


Do 


Forewoman 




Charwomen 


21 




240 5,040 




Total 






291 




196, 340 


291 


; 196,340 


Total 


1,325 




1,631,840 


1,282 


1.572.740 









410 BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Exhibit No. 2 C. 

A. History of the Accounting System of the Government 
from its Inception in 1789 to the "Dockeey Commission" 
Investigation in 1894. 

The old auditing system of the Government was established in 1789, 
when the area of the country was 827,844 square miles, its population 
3,929,3 14, and its annual expenditures about $500,000. The Treasury 
Department was then provided with a secretary, a comptroller, an 
auditor, a treasurer, and a register, but the accounting business 
devolved alone upon the auditor and the comptroller. Accounts and 
claims were presented to, and stated by, the auditor and reviewed by 
the comptroller, thus combining the requirements of a double audit. 

Apparently it was the theory of the system, and the early practice 
thereunder, that all accounts and claims against the Government, with 
the possible exception of Army and Navy expenditures, were to be paid 
only on presentation and after audit by the accounting officers. The 
appropriations for the support of the Government for the calendar 
year 1789 were expressed in a statute of 13 lines, enacted 27 days after 
the auditing system was adopted. For nearly 30 years the appropria- 
tions for the conduct of the several departments of the Government 
were made in gross and without reference to the number of persons 
employed, the salaries to be paid, or amounts for specified objects; 
and for nearly 40 years all of the appropriations for the support of 
the Government were made in but one general bill. 

The general system of auditing and bookkeeping adopted in 1789, 
with its divided responsibility in the Treasury Department, was per- 
haps the best that could be devised at that time. 

The growth of the country, however, and the increase in the expendi- 
tures of the Government has required many changes to be made in the 
original system. The first important change was made by the act of 
May 8, 1792, which created the office of accountant for the War 
Department, who was authorized to settle accounts relating to that 
department, and to whom advances were made for all the expenses 
of the department. The act of April 30, 1798, created the Navy 
Department and provided an accountant therefor, who was author- 
ized to settle all accounts in that department. 

This was followed by the act of 1816, creating an additional account- 
ant for the War Department, but continuing in force the same system 
of accounting. During this period the accountings for the War and 
Navy Departments were practically made by the accountants for 
these departments. It is true, the power of revision still rested in 
the Treasury Department, but as a matter of practice it was but 
nominal, for the reason that payments were made on the audits of 
the accountants of these departments without waiting for the revision 
authorized by the accounting branch of the Treasury Department. 
This fact is set out in a report of December 17, 1816, made to the 
Senate by James Monroe and others. As a reason for this practice 
of payment before the revision of the Treasury Department, they 
state that the delays necessary to such revision would result in con- 
fusion and obstruct the operations of the Government. 

The act of 1817 abolished the offices of accountants of the War and 
Navy Departments and superintendent general of military supplies, 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 411 

and restored the settlement of accounts to the Treasury Department. 
Tins act also created the Second Comptroller, the Second, Third, and 
Fourth Auditors, and transferred the appropriations for clerk hire 
in the offices of the accountants of the War and Navy Departments 
and the superintendent general of military supplies to the auditors' 
offices, with the duties which they had been performing, thus making 
it clearly the intention of the act to dispense with all administrative 
examination of accounts. 

Other important changes made in the accounting system were the 
establishment in 1812 of the General Land Office, with an auditing 
branch in which all land accounts were settled, and the transfer of 
the General Land Office to the Interior Department, established in 
1849, in which the law authorized the continuance of the same audit; 
and in both cases the accounts passed from the audit in the adminis- 
trative office directly to the First Comptroller for review. 

The next important change was made by the act of 1836, under 
which the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department 
was established, the act making his decision final and conclusive 
except upon appeal to the First Comptroller. Again, in 1849, the 
office of Commissioner of Customs or Third Comptroller was estab- 
lished for the purpose of relieving the Comptroller of the Treasury 
from a part of his duties. The Commissioner of Customs was then 
charged not only with the duties of accounting, but also with the 
administrative functions which have since been withdrawn from that 
office by the creation of an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and 
the establishment of a division of customs in the office of the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. 

Yet another change, made in 1867, restored in express terms the 
administrative examination which was dispensed with by the act of 
1817. The experience of the departments of the Government having 
demonstrated the essential importance of an administrative examina- 
tion, it was gradually resumed and practiced in the departments until 
it was finally crystallized in the act of 1862, as amended by the act 
of 1867, and is now expressed in the Revised Statutes, section 3622, 
in the following language: 

Every officer or agent of the United States who receives public money which he is 
not authorized to retain as salary, pay, or emolument shall render his accounts monthly. 
Such accounts, with the vouchers necessary to the correct and prompt settlement 
thereof, shall be sent, by mail or otherwise, to the bureau to which they pertain within 
10 days after the expiration of each successive month, and, after examination there, 
shall be passed to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury for settlement. 

Disbursing officers of the Navy shall, however, render their accounts and vouchers 
direct to the proper accounting officer of the Treasury. In case of the nonreceipt at 
the Treasury, or proper bureau, of any accounts within a reasonable and proper time 
thereafter, the officer whose accounts are in default shall be required to furnish satis- 
factory evidence of having complied with the provisions of this section. 

The Secretary of the Treasury may, if in his opinion the circumstances of the case 
justify and require it, extend the time hereinbefore prescribed for the rendition of 
accounts. Nothing herein contained shall, however, be construed to restrain the 
heads of any of the departments from requiring such other returns or reports from the 
officer or agent, subject to the control of such heads of departments, as the public 
interest may require. 

It may be well to say that Massachusetts' great Senator, Hon. 
Henry Wilson, was the author of the act of 1867 which restored the 
administrative examination as a part of the accounting system of the 
Treasury. 



412 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It thus appears that the original system established in 1789 was 
changed in 1792, in 1798, in 1812, in 1817, in 1836, in 1849, in 1862, 
and again in 1867. From its original status with one auditor and one 
comptroller the system had developed into a system of five auditors, 
acting under three independent comptrollers, one great department 
bureau (the General Land Office), settling its own accounts directly 
with a comptroller without the intervention of an auditor, and a 
sixth auditor who acted independently of a comptroller except upon 
appeal. 

In a report submitted to the House of Representatives under date 
of March 10, 1886, it appears from the books of the register that the 
civil accounts of the Government showed balances due the United 
States of more than $25,000,000. This exhibit only included the 
civil accounts, and was entirely exclusive of the military and naval 
accounts and the accounts of balances due the Government in the 
office of the Sixth Auditor. 

About 90 per cent of our total appropriations being first expended 
and then audited, a speedy audit is essential to properly protect the 
Government and by preventing the advance of money to officers who 
are either delinquent in rendering their accounts or who have not 
properly disbursed the public money intrusted to their care. 

The delays resulting from a triplicate system of examination were 
so great that the auditors became practically "dead letters" in the 
administration of the accounting branch and the Government was of 
necessity compelled to rely largely upon the administrative depart- 
ments to exercise oversight and secure a proper expenditure of the 
public money. 

The requirements of submitting estimates for appropriations and 
the existing methods of Congress in making appropriations, involving, 
as they do, a detailed and thorough inquiry by committees not only 
into the purpose for which appropriations are asked, but also into the 
manner and results of expenditures previously made, and the act 
covering back into the Treasury balances of appropriations two years 
after the year for which they are made, and the law passed in the year 
1862, as amended in 1867, requiring the examination of accounts by 
the administrative departments all combine to make a system of 
checks absolutely perfect to protect the Government, provided that a 
final audit can be had practically contemporaneous with expenditures. 

B. Comment of the Dockery Commission upon Defects in the 
11 Accounting System of the Government" and the Changes 
Recommended to Remedy Them. 

A report was made on the methods of accounting in the Treasury 
which related to the office of Commissioner of Customs (S. Rept. 
No. 240 or H. Rept. No. 409, 53d Cong., 2dsess.), and another which 
related to the offices of First Comptroller, Second Comptroller, Regis- 
ter, and Auditors of the Treasury, and the accounting system generally 
(S. Rept. No. 293 or H. Rept. No. 637, 53d Cong. 2d sess.). A bill 
passed the House of Representatives approving the report on the office 
of Commissioner of Customs and was incorporated in a bill relating to 
the general accounting system of the Government which was approved 
July 31, 1894. 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 413 

The offices of Commissioner of Customs and Second Comptroller 
were abolished and the detailed work was discontinued in the office of 
the First Comptroller of the Treasury, which was changed to Comp- 
troller of the Treasury, making the responsibilities of this office of a 
supervisory character and necessarily of greater protection to the 
Government service, and provision was made for an appeal thereto 
by the claimant, the head of the administrative department having 
jurisdiction over the account, or the Secretary of the Treasury, on 
accounts settled by the various auditors, whose titles and duties were 
changed, greatly expediting the accounting of public officers ; increas- 
ing the protection to the Government by requiring the rendition of 
accounts within stated periods, which is made effective by reason of 
the requirement that the auditors charged with the settlement of 
accounts shall approve the requisitions for the advance of money, 
the approval depending upon the prompt rendition of the accounts, 
and the further check in the final settlement of accounts by having 
the warrant for the payment of either advances or settlements accom- 
panied by the requisition or the auditor's certificate, as the case may 
be, to the Treasurer's office, where the date and amount of payment is 
noted, the requisition and certificate being returned to the auditor 
who stated the account, to be filed finally therewith. 

This change also prevents conflicting constructions of statutes. 

It dispensed with passing warrants through the office of the Regis- 
ter of the Treasury, where they were recopied to no possible purpose. 
The personal ledgers were removed from the office of the Register and 
certain of the auditors to a division of the office of the Secretary of 
the Treasury known as the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants. 
The files of accounts were removed from the custody of the register 
and put with the Auditor for the Treasury and the Auditor for the 
State and Other Departments, respectively, having jurisdiction over 
the accounts, making uniform the riling of accounts with the auditors 
settling them. The files were removed and adjusted to the new condi- 
tions without any interruption to the public business, and they are 
now uniformly under the jurisdiction of the auditors having the set- 
tlements thereof. The department is very much crowded for filing 
space, but not so much so as would have been the case under the former 
plan, for the volume of papers to be filed has been somewhat reduced. 

There was very great delay in the settlement of accounts under the 
former system. 

The experts employed by the commission reported that — 

The time elapsed from the date of rendering until the final settlement of the accounts 
(by the comptrollers) passing through the several auditors' offices is as follows: 

First Auditor's office, from two to six months. 

Second Auditor's office, from six months to two years. 

Third Auditor's office, from nine to seventeen months. 

Fourth Auditor's office, from five months to one year. 

Fifth Auditor's office, from three to six months. 

Commissioner of General Land Office, from three to four months. 

These figures represent an average of the various classes of accounts and many, of 
course, are delayed a much longer period. There are scarcely any accounts finally 
settled within a reasonable period, while for some of the officers who have gone out of 
service, as, for instance, Indian agents, it is as much as five years before the accounts 
are settled, and during all this time the vouchers and papers lie in one or another of the 
offices of the Treasury or administrative departments. 

These facts are known and acknowledged by all who are conversant 
with the condition of the public business in the Treasury Department 



414 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

as they existed. Further evidence of the necessity for a revision of 
the accounting methods was abundant. 

In the last annual report of Hon. Charles Foster, Secretary of the 
Treasury, he tersely reviews the unsatisfactory methods then em- 
ployed. He said: 

The desirability, if indeed it be not a necessity, of a change in the methods of dis- 
bursing public moneys and the examination, adjudication, and settlement of public 
accounts has long been manifest, not only to the officers of the Treasury Department 
charged with and responsible for the official working of these methods, but to many 
committees of Congress, standing and select, which have inquired into and reported 
upon such methods. 

There is now a triplicate system of examination of public accounts which has no 
counterpart in any other Government, whether European or in the several States of 
the Union. It is not only vexatious in respect to details, but wrong in respect to sys- 
tem. Beyond that, however, is the fact that it is highly expensive, without compen- 
sating results to the Government, while, in spite of the examination by three different 
offices and "sets" of clerks, accounts and claims are occasionally improperly adjusted 
or allowed. 

The whole duty of control and audit appertaining to the public expenditures should 
be under the administrative direction of a comptroller general or chief comptroller of 
the Treasury, within whose bureau a board of audit might be created for the determi- 
nation of quasi-judicial questions arising in the examination, statement, and settle- 
ment of accounts, if that mode of procedure should be regarded with favor. 

Standing and select committees of Congress have from time to time been instructed 
to inquire into the defects of departmental methods, and have made many valuable 
reports thereon, recommending or suggesting various changes, many of which have 
been enacted into law by Congress, with amendments recommended by various 
Secretaries of the Treasury. 

Commissions or committees, composed of officers and clerks of the Treasury Depart- 
ment, have from time to time been appointed to examine into the methods of the 
department, and have recommended changes which have been adopted in whole or 
part as "Treasury regulations." 

But these investigations and recommendations, valuable as they were, have fallen 
far short of meeting the requirements of the situation. In the nature of things it is 
impossible for committees of Congress, with other duties and obligations as to com- 
mittee and department work pressing upon its members, to give their entire time to 
a study of this great problem, and the same is true as to a commission composed of 
officers and clerks in the Treasury Department. They have their own current work 
to perform, most of it important (its members being selected on account of their ability 
and efficiency), which can not be neglected, postponed, or transferred, and then, 
trained and accustomed as they are to existing methods, it is but natural to suppose 
that they would be slow to recommend radical changes therein. 

For this reason it is believed that a nonpartisan commission, similar in its organiza- 
tion to the Interstate Commerce Commission, but limited to a period of say, three 
years' duration (which can be extended temporarily if necessary), organized exclu- 
sively for the purpose of examining into existing methods of business and work in the 
several Executive Departments, more especially as to the disbursement of public 
money, and the examination, adjudication, and settlements of public accounts, with 
the view of either establishing simpler and more accurate as well as economical methods, 
or providing for a consolidation of the accounting offices of the Treasury Department, 
thus accomplishing a considerable reduction in the number of employees and a result- 
ing reduction of expenditure for salaries (thereby promoting the efficiency and general 
good of the public service) is highly desirable, and the subject is earnestly commended 
to the consideration of the President and Congress. 

Citations could be multiplied in support of the proposition that 
some change in the accounting system of the Treasury was necessary 
to secure a prompt and accurate audit of claims and public accounts. 

The accounting department of the Treasury is designed to secure 
a speedy and reliable audit of the receipts and expenditures of the 
Government; that is to say, the function of the accounting branch 
is to determine the amount to which the Government is entitled, or 
the amount the Government should pay under a proper construction 
of the statutes. The audit, therefore, of the accounting branch 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 415 

looks solely to the ascertainment of the correct amount under a 
proper interpretation of the law. The law, so far as it relates to the 
income of the Government, specifically changes the audit of customs 
receipts. Under the former system about 90 per cent of our customs 
revenues were collected at ports where there are naval officers, and 
the audit of all such receipts involved a quadruple examination of 
accounts. 

Under the old system there was first the joint double audit of the 
naval officer and the collector of the port before the duties are col- 
lected. This was followed by an audit of the First Auditor, and 
finally the accounts were reviewed by the Commissioner of Customs. 
The act abolished the office of the Commissioner of Customs, thus 
dispensing with the fourth and final examination as then existing, 
and leaving a triplicate system of examination for the protection of 
the Government by the joint action of the naval officer and collector 
of the port and the audit of the auditor. 

The new law not only provides a system which requires a triplicate 
examination of accounts, with the right of appeal to the Comptroller 
of the Treasury, but also strengthens the audit by requiring original 
papers to be sent to the auditor in all cases where the Secretary of 
the Treasury may so direct. The triplicate safeguards which yet 
remain with the appellate supervision of the comptroller would seem 
to be a sufficient guaranty that the Government will secure a reliable 
and yet more expeditious audit than the one which then prevailed. 

In this connection it is well to state the fundamental proposition 
that the essential virtue of an audit consists in the act of audit being 
as nearly contemporaneous with the receipt or expenditure as is 
practicable to be made. In other words, it would seem to be desirable 
to make the audit in the lifetime of the officer who receives or expends 
public money, rather than to deal with his administrator or rely upon 
his official bond. 

C. Law Reorganizing the Accounting Offices of the Treasury, 
Enacted Upon Recommendation of the "Dockery Commis- 



The( following is the act of July 31, 1894 (ch. 174, 28 Stat., 162, 
205-211), so far as it relates to the reorganization of the accounting 
offices of the Treasury: 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, 

Sec. 3. The auditors of the Treasury shall hereafter be designated as follows: The 
First Auditor as Auditor for the Treasury Department; the Second Auditor as Auditor 
for the War Department; the Third Auditor as Auditor for the Interior Department; 
the Fourth Auditor as Auditor for the Navy Department; the Fifth Auditor as Auditor 
for the State and other departments; the Sixth Auditor as Auditor for the Post Office 
Department. _ The designations of the deputy auditors and other subordinates shall 
correspond with those of the auditors. And each deputy auditor, in addition to the 
duties now required to be performed by him, shall sign, in the name of the Auditor 
such letters and papers as the Auditor may direct. 

Sec 4. The offices of Commissioner of Customs, Deputy Commissioner of Cus- 
toms, Second Comptroller, Deputy Second Comptroller, and Deputy First Comptroller 
of the Treasury are abolished, and the First Comptroller of the Treasury shall here- 
after be known as Comptroller of the Treasury. He shall perform the same duties 
and have the same powers aud responsibilities (except as modified by this act) as those 
now performed by or appertaining to the First and Second Comptrollers of the Treasury 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 27 



416 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

and the Commissioner of Customs; and all provisions of law not inconsistent with this 
act, in any way relating to them or either of them, shall hereafter be construed and 
held as relating to the Comptroller of the Treasury. His salary shall be five thousand 
five hundred dollars per annum. There shall also be an Assistant Comptroller of the 
Treasury, to be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
who shall receive a salary of five thousand dollars per annum, and a chief clerk in the 
office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, who shall receive a salary of two thousand 
five hundred dollars per annum. 

The Assistant Comptroller of the Treasury shall perform such duties as may be 
prescribed by the Comptroller of the Treasury and shall have the power, under the 
direction of the Comptroller of the Treasury, to countersign all warrants and sign 
all other papers. 

The chief clerk shall perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Comp- 
troller of the Treasury, and shall have the power, in the name of the Comptroller of 
the Treasury, to countersign all warrants except accountable warrants. 

The auditors, under the direction of the Comptroller of the Treasury, shall super- 
intend the recovery of all debts finally certified by them, respectively, to be due to 
the United States. 

Section thirty-six hundred and twenty-five of the Revised Statutes is amended 
by subsistuting the words "proper auditor" for the words "First Comptroller of the 
Treasury (or the Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be)." 

Section thirty-six hundred and thirty-three of the Revised Statutes is amended by 
substituting the words "proper auditor" for the words "First or Second Comptroller 
of the Treasury." 

Sec 5. The Comptroller of the Treasury shall, under the direction of the Secretary 
of the Treasury, prescribe the forms of keeping and rendering all public accounts, 
except those relating to the postal revenues and expenditures therefrom. 

The returns of fees mentioned in section seventeen hundred and twenty-five of the 
Revised Statutes shall be made as prescribed by the Comptroller of the Treasury. 

Sec 6. Section two hundred and seventy-one of the Revised Statutes is amended 
to read as follows: 

"Sec 271. The Comptroller of the Treasury in any case where, in his opinion, 
the interests of the Government require it, shall direct any of the auditors forthwith 
to audit and settle any particular account which such auditor is authorized to audit 
and settle." 

Sec 7. Accounts shall be examined by the auditors as follows: 

First. The Auditor for the Treasury Department shall receive and examine all 
accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Secretary of the 
Treasury and all bureaus and offices under his direction, all accounts relating to the 
customs service, public debt, internal revenue, Treasurer, and assistant treasurers, 
mints and assay offices, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Coast and Geodetic Survey, 
Revenue-Cutter Service, Life-Saving Service, Lighthouse Board, Marine -Hospital 
Service, public buildings, Steamboat-Inspection Service, immigration, navigation, 
Secret Service, Alaskan fur-seal fisheries, and to all other business within the juris- 
diction of the Department of the Treasury, and certify the balances arising thereon to 
the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants. 

Second. The Auditor for the War Department shall receive and examine all accounts 
of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Secretary of War and all bureaus 
and offices under his direction, all accounts relating to the military establishment, 
armories and arsenals, national cemeteries, fortifications, nublic buildings and grounds 
under the Chief of Engineers, rivers and harbors, the Military Academy, and to all 
other business within the jurisdiction of the Department of War, and certify the 
balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, and send forth- 
with a copy of each certificate to the Secretary of War. 

Third. The Auditor of the Interior Department shall receive and examine all 
accounts of salaiies and incidental expenses of the office of the Secretary of the Interior, 
and of all bureaus and offices under his direction, and all accounts relating to Army 
and Navy pensions, Geological Survey, public lands, Indians, Architect of the Capitol, 
patents, census, and to all other business within the jurisdiction of the Department 
of the Interior, and certify the balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping 
and Warrants, and send forthwith a copy of each certificate to the Secretary of the 
Interior. 

Sections two hundred and seventy-three and two hundred and seventy-five of the 
Revised Statutes are repealed. 

Section four hundred and fifty-six of the Revised Statutes is amended to read as 
follows: 

" Sec 456. All returns relative to the public lands shall be made to the Commissioner 
of the General Land Office." 



REPORTS OE THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 417 

Fourth. The Auditor for the Navy Department shall receive and examine all accounts 
of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Secretary of the Navy, and of 
all bureaus and offices under his direction, all accounts relating to the JN aval Estab- 
lishment, Marine Corps, Naval Academy, and to all other business within the juris- 
diction of the Department of the Navy, and certify the balances arising thereon to 
the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, and send forthwith a copy of each cer- 
tificate to the Secretary of the Navy. 

Fifth. The Auditor for the State and other departments shall receive and examine 
all accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the offices of the Secretary of State, 
the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Agriculture, and of all bureaus and offices 
under their direction; all accounts relating to all other business within the jurisdic- 
tion of the Departments of State, Justice, and Agriculture; all accounts relating to 
the Diplomatic and Consular Service, the judiciary, United States courts, judgments 
of United States courts, Executive Office, Civil Service Commission. Interstate Com- 
merce Commission, Department of Labor, District of Columbia, Fish Commission, 
Court of Claims and its judgments, Smithsonian Institution, Territorial governments, 
the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Public Printer, Library of Congress, 
Botanic Garden, and accounts of all boards, commissions, and establishments of the 
Government not within the jurisdiction of any of the executive departments. He 
shall certify the balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping and War- 
rants, and send forthwith a copy of each certificate, according to the character of the 
account, to the Secretary of the Senate, Clerk of the House of Representatives, 
Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, or the chief officer of the executive 
department; commission, board, or establishment concerned. 

Sixth. The Auditor for the Post Office Department shall receive and examine all 
accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Postmaster General 
and of all bureaus and offices under his direction, all postal and money-order accounts 
of postmasters, all accounts relating to the transportation of the mails, and to all other 
business within the jurisdiction of the Post Office Department, and certify the balances 
arising thereon to the Postmaster General for accounts of the postal revenue and 
expenditures therefrom, and to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants for other 
accounts, and send forthwith copies of the certificates in the latter cases to the Post- 
master General. 

The further duties of this auditor shall continue as now defined by law, except as 
the same are modified by the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 8. The balances which may from time to time be certified by the auditors to 
the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, or to the Postmaster General, upon the 
settlements of public accounts, shall be final and conclusive upon the executive branch 
of the Government, except that any person whose accounts may have been settled, 
the head of the executive department, or of the board, commission, or establishment 
not under the jurisdiction of an executive department to which the account pertains, 
or the Comptroller of the Treasury, may within a year, obtain a revision of the said 
account by the Comptroller of the Treasury, whose decision upon such revision shall 
be final and conclusive upon the executive branch of the Government: Provided, That 
the Secretary of the Treasury may, when in his judgment the interests of the Govern- 
ment require it, suspend payment and direct the reexamination of any account. 

Upon a certificate by the Comptroller of the Treasury of any differences ascertained 
by him upon revision the auditor who shall have audited the account shall state an 
account of such differences, and certify it to the Division of Bookkeeping and War- 
rants, except that balances found and accounts stated as aforesaid by the Auditor for 
the Post Office Department for postal revenues and expenditures therefrom shall 
be certified to the Postmaster General. 

Any person accepting payment under a settlement by an auditor shall be thereby 
precluded from obtaining a revision of such settlement as to any items upon which 
payment is accepted; but nothing in this act shall prevent an auditor from suspending 
items in an account in order to obtain further evidence or explanations necessary to 
their settlement. When suspended items are finally settled a revision may be had 
as in the case of the original settlement. Action upon any account or business shall 
not be delayed awaiting applications for revision: Provided, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall make regulations fixing the time which shall expire before a warrant 
is issued in payment of an account certified as provided in sections seven and eight 
of this act. 

The auditor shall, under the direction of the Comptroller of the Treasury, preserve, 
with their vouchers and certificates, all accounts which have been finally adjusted. 

All decisions by auditors making an original construction or modifying an existing 
construction of statutes shall be forthwith reported to the Comptroller of the Treasury, 



418 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

and items in any account affected by such decisions shall be suspended and payment 
thereof withheld until the Comptroller of the Treasury shall approve, disapprove, or 
modify such decisions and certify his actions to the auditor. All decisions made by 
the Comptroller of the Treasury under this act shall be forthwith transmitted to the 
auditor or auditors whose duties are affected thereby. 

Disbursing officers, or the head of any executive department, or other establish- 
ment not under any of the executive departments, may apply for and the Comp- 
troller of the Treasury shall render his decision upon any question involving a pay- 
ment to be made by them or under them, which decision, when rendered, shall 
govern the Auditor and the Comptroller of the Treasury in passing upon the account 
containing said disbursement. 

Sections one hundred and ninety-one and two hundred and seventy of the Revised 
Statutes are repealed. 

Sec. 9. This act, so far as it relates to the First Comptroller of the Treasury and the 
several auditors and deputy auditors of the Treasury, shall be held and construed to 
operate merely as changing their designations and as adding to and modifying their 
duties and powers, and not as creating new officers. 

All laws not inconsistent with this act, relating to the auditors of the Treasury in 
connection with any matter, shall be understood in each case to relate to the auditor 
to whom this act assigns the business of the executive department or other establish- 
ments concerned in that matter. 

Sec 10. The Division of Warrants, Estimates, and Appropriations in the office of 
the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby recognized and established as the Division of 
Bookkeeping and Warrants. It shall be under the direction of the Secretary of the 
Treasury as heretofore. Upon the books of this division shall be kept all accounts 
of receipts and expenditures of public money except those relating to the postal 
revenues and expenditures therefrom; and section three hundred and thirteen and so 
much of sections two hundred and eighty-three and thirty-six hundred and seventy- 
five of the Revised Statutes as require those accounts to be kept by certain auditors 
and the Register of the Treasury are repealed: The duties of the Register of the 
Treasury shall be such as are now required of him in connection with the public debt 
and such further duties as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Sec. 11. Every requisition for an advance of money, before being acted on by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, shall be sent to the proper auditor for action thereon as: 
required by section twelve of this act. 

All warrants, when authorized by law and signed by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
shall be countersigned by the Comptroller of the Treasury, and all warrants for the 
payment of money shall be accompanied either by the auditor's certificate, mentioned 
in section seven of this act, or by the requisition for advance of money, which certifi- 
cate or requisition shall specify the particular appropriation to which the same should 
be charged, instead of being specified on the warrant, as now provided by section 
thirty-six hundred and seventy-five of the Revised Statutes; and shall also go with 
the warrant to the Treasurer, who shall return the certificate or requisition to the 
proper auditor, with the date and amount of the draft issued indorsed thereon. Requi- 
sitions for the payment of money on all audited accounts, or for covering money into 
the Treasury, shall not hereafter be required. And requisitions for advances of money 
shall not be countersigned by the Comptroller of the Treasury. 

Section two hundred and sixty-nine and so much of section three hundred and five 
of the Revised Statutes as requires the Register of the Treasury to record warrants is 
repealed. 

Sec 12. All monthly accounts shall be mailed or otherwise sent to the proper 
officer at Washington within ten days after the end of the month to which they relate, 
and quarterly and other accounts within twenty days after the period to which they 
relate, and shall be transmitted to and received by the auditors within twenty days 
of their actual receipt at the proper office in Washington in the case of monthly and 
sixty days in case of quarterly and other accounts. Should there be any delinquency 
in this regard at the time of the receipt by the auditor of a requisition for advance of 
money he shall disapprove the requisition, which he may also do for other reasons 
arising out of the condition of the officer's accounts for whom the advance is requested; 
but the Secretary of the Treasury may overrule the auditor's decision as to the suffi- 
ciency of these latter reasons: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall pre- 
scribe suitable rules and regulations, and may make orders in particular cases, relaxing 
the requirement of mailing or otherwise sending accounts, as aforesaid, within ten or 
twenty days, or waiving delinquency, in such cases only in which there is, or is likely 
to be, a manifest physical difficulty in complying with the same, it being the purpose 
of this provision to require the prompt rendition of accounts without regard to the mere 
convenience of the officers, and to forbid the advance of money to those delinquent 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 419 

in rendering them: Provided further , That should, there be a delay by the administra- 
tive departments beyond the aforesaid twenty or sixty days in transmitting accounts, 
an order of the President in the particular case shall be necessary to authorize the 
advance of money requested: And provided further , That this section shall not apply 
to accounts of the postal revenue and expenditures therefrom, which shall be rendered 
as now required by law. (Amended by act of Mar. 2, 1895, 28 Stat., 807.) 

The Secretary of the Treasury shall, on the first Monday of January in each year, 
make report to Congress of such officers as are then delinquent in the rendering of 
their accounts or in the payment of balances found due from them for the last pre- 
ceding fiscal year. Sections two hundred and fifty and two hundred and seventy-two 
of the Revised Statutes are repealed. 

Section thirty-six hundred and twenty-two of the Revised Statutes is amended by 
striking therefrom the following words: "The Secretary of the Treasury may, if in 
his opinion the circumstances of the case justify and require it, extend the time here- 
inbefore prescribed for the rendition of accounts. "' 

Sec 13. Before transmission to the Department of the Treasury the accounts of 
district attorneys, assistant attorneys, marshals, commissioners, clerks, and other officers 
of the courts of the United States, except consular courts, made out and approved 
as required by law, and accounts relating to prisoners convicted or held for trial in 
any court of the United States, and all other accounts relating to the business of the 
Department of Justice or of the courts of the United States other than consular courts, 
shall be sent with their vouchers to the Attorney General and examined under his 
supervision. 

Judges receiving salaries from the Treasury of the United States shall be paid 
monthly by the disbursing officer of the Department of Justice, and to him all certifi- 
cates of nonabsence or of the cause of absence of judges in the Territories shall be sent. 
Interstate Commerce Commissioners and other officers, now paid as judges are, shall 
be paid monthly by the proper disbursing officer or officers. 

Sec. 14. In the case of claims presented to an auditor which have not had an admin- 
istrative examination, the auditor shall cause them to be examined by two of his sub- 
ordinates independently of each other. 

Sec 15. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury annually to lay before 
Congress, on the first day of the regular session thereof, an accurate, combined state- 
ment of the receipts and expenditures during the last preceding fiscal year of all 
public moneys, including those of the Post Office Department, designating the amount 
of the receipts, whenever practicable, by ports, districts, and States, and the expendi- 
tures, by each separate head of appropriation. 

Sec 16. In section three hundred and seven of the Revised Statutes the words 
'Secretary of the Treasury" are substituted for the words "Register of the Treasury." 

Sec 17. The transcripts from the books and proceedings of the Department of the 
Treasury provided for in section eight hundred and eighty-six of the Revised Statutes 
shall hereafter be certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 
and the copies of the contracts and other papers therein provided for shall be certified 
bv the auditor having the custody of such papers. (Amended by act of Mar. 2, 1895, 
28 Stat., 809.) 

Sec 18. Section thirty-seven hundred and forty-three of the Revised Statutes is 
amended to read as follows: 

"Sec 3743. All contracts to be made, by virtue of any law, and requiring the ad- 
vance of money, or in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, 
shall be deposited promptly in the offices of the Auditors of the Treasury, according to 
the nature of the contracts: Provided, That this section shall not apply to the existing 
laws in regard to the contingent funds of Congress." 

Sec 19. Section twenty-six hundred and thirty-nine of the Revised Statutes is 
amended by substituting the words "proper auditor" for the words "Commissioner of 
Customs." 

Sec 20. It shall be the duty of the collectors of customs and other officers of customs 
to transmit, with their accounts, to the officers charged with the settlement of their 
accounts, all such papers, records, or copies thereof relating to their transactions as 
officers of customs as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct. 

Sec 21. All accounts stated by the auditors before the first day of October, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-four, and then pending for settlement in the offices of the First or 
Second Comptroller, or the Commissioner of Customs, shall be revised by the Comp- 
troller of the Treasury in the manner provided by existing law, and the balances arising 
thereon shall be certified to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants. 

Sec 22. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to make appropriate 
rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of this act and for transferring or 
preserving books, papers, or other property appertaining to any office or branch of 
business affected by it. 



420 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It shall also be the duty of the heads of the several executive departments and of 
the proper officers of other Government establishments, not within the jurisdiction of 
any executive department, to make appropriate rules and regulations to secure a 
proper administrative examination of all accounts sent to them, as required by section 
twelve of this act, before their transmission to the auditors, and for the execution of 
other requirements of this act in so far as the same relate to the several departments or 
establishments. 

Sec. 23. Nothing- in this act shall be construed to authorize the reexamination and 
payment of any claim or account which has heretofore been disallowed or settled. 

Sec 24. The provisions of sections three to twenty-three, inclusive, of this act shall 
be in force on and after the first day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-four. 

Sec. 25. All laws or parts of laws inconsistent with this act are repealed. 



APPENDIX No. 5 



RETURNS OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT 
OF THE INTERIOR 



421 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Report of the commission, with recommendations 423 

Draft of a bill to provide for publicity of Government contracts 428 

EXHIBITS. 

ID. Report of the special committee on the Returns Office, Department of the 

Interior 430 

2D. Letter of the special committee on Government contracts, with exhibits.. 437 

422 



RETURNS OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. 

November 17, 1911. 
The President: 

The Commission on Economy and Efficiency has given considera- 
tion to the question of the maintenance and operation of the Returns 
Office in the Interior Department and has the honor to submit the 
following report : 

The Returns Office was established by law in 1862 for the purpose 
of receiving, filing, and keeping open for public inspection copies of 
all contracts made by officers of the Departments of War, Navy, and 
the Interior. This report contains a review of the questions pre- 
sented, a statement of the conditions that led to the creation of the 
Returns Office, and the reasons why its continuance in its present 
form is no longer necessary. The recommendations we submit may 
be summarized as follows: 

1. That the Returns Office in the Department of the Interior be 
abolished. 

2. That publicity of contracts be provided for through the offices 
of the Auditors of the Treasury, where originals of all public contracts 
are now filed, with the exception that contracts which it would be 
prejudicial to the public interest to make public shall not be open to 
public inspection. 

3. That the requirement that every contract made by officers of the 
Departments of War, Navy, and the Interior be in writing be mod- 
ified so as to apply only to a contract involving $1,000 or more, and 
as so modified the law be made applicable to all the executive depart- 
ments and independent establishments. A provision for an oral or 
informal contract, regardless of amount involved, in case of extraor- 
dinary emergency should be included. 

4. That the affidavit required by section 3745 of the Revised Stat- 
utes to be attached to contracts of the Departments of War, Navy, 
and the Interior be superseded by a certificate to the same effect as 
the affidavit, with suitable penalties for making a false certificate, and 
the same form of certificate be used for contracts of all executive 
departments and independent establishments. 

In order to carry out these recommendations, a change in existing 
law is necessary and is recommended. The direct annual saving of 
expense to be secured by the change is : 

1. The cost of the Returns Office, estimated at $2, 600 

2. The amount paid by the departments as fees to notaries public for admin- 

istering the oaths to contract papers, estimated at 8, 000 

Total 10,600 

It is not possible to state the cost in time of officers and employees 
in making the copies of contracts to be sent to the Returns Office and 
in executing the affidavits attached to such copies. It is undoubt- 
edly much more each year than the annual money cost of $10,600. 

423 



424 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It may therefore be fairly estimated that the total annual saving will 
be not less than $25,000. Filing space in the Interior Department 
for preserving the copies of contracts, estimated at more than 500 
cubic feet per year, as well as the office space occupied, will be avail- 
able for other uses. Some additional filing space will be needed in 
the offices of the auditors. 

The sections of the Revised Statutes creating the Returns Office and 
prescribing the duties of the clerk thereof, and other sections re- 
ferring to that office, or the same subject matter, are as follows: 

Sec. 512. The Secretary of the Interior shall from time to time provide a proper 
apartment, to be called the Returns Office, in which he shall cause to be filed the 
returns of contracts made by the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and 
the Secretary of the Interior, and shall appoint a clerk of the first class to attend to 
the same. 

Sec 513. The clerk of the Returns Office shall file all returns made to the office, so 
that the same may be of easy access, keeping all returns made by the same officer in 
the same place, and numbering them in the order in which they are made. 

Sec 514. The clerk of the Returns Office shall provide and keep an index book, 
with the names of the contracting parties, and the number of each contract opposite 
to the names; and shall submit the index book and returns to any person desiring to 
inspect it. 

Sec 515. The clerk of the Returns Office shall furnish copies of such returns to any 
person paying therefor at the rate of five cents for every one hundred words, to which 
copies certificates shall be appended in every case by the clerk making the same, 
attesting their correctness, and that each copy so certified is a full and complete copy 
of the return. 

Sec 3743. All contracts to be made, by virtue of any law, and requiring the ad- 
vance of money, or in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, 
shall be deposited promptly in the offices of the Auditors of the Treasury, according 
to the nature of the contracts: Provided, That this section shall not apply to the ex- 
isting laws in regard to the contingent funds of Congress. 

Sec 3744. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of "War, of the Secretary of the Navy, 
and of the Secretary of the Interior to cause and require every contract made by them 
severally on behalf of the Government, or by their officers under them appointed 
to make such contracts, to be reduced to writing, and signed by the contracting parties 
with their names at the end thereof; a copy of which shall be filed by the officer making 
and signing the contract in the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior, as 
soon after the contract is made as possible, and within thirty days, together with all 
bids, offers, and proposals to him made by persons to obtain the same, and with a 
copy of any advertisement he may have published inviting bids, offers, or proposals 
for the same. All the copies and papers in relation to each contract shall be attached 
together by a ribbon and seal, and marked by numbers in regular order, according 
to the number of papers composing the whole return. 

Sec 3745. It- shall be the further duty of the officer, before making his return, 
according to the preceding section, to affix to the same his affidavit in the following 
form, sworn to before some magistrate having authority to administer oaths: "I do 
solemnly swear (of affirm) that the copy of contract hereto annexed is an exact copy 

of a contract made by me personally with ; that I made the same fairly without 

any benefit or advantage to myself, or allowing any such benefit or advantage corruptly 

to the said , or any other person; and that the papers accompanying include 

all those relating to the said contract, as required by the statute in such case made 
and provided." 

Sec 3746. Every officer who makes any contract, and fails or neglects to make 
return of the same, according to the provisions of the two preceding sections, unless 
from unavoidable accident or causes not within his control, shall be deemed guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than 
five hundred, and imprisoned not more than six months. 

Sec 3747. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, of the Secretary of the 
Navy, and of the Secretary of the Interior to furnish every officer appointed by them 
with authority to make contracts on behalf of the Government with a printed letter 
of instructions, setting forth the duties of such officer, under the two preceding sec- 
tions, and also to furnish therewith forms, printed in blank, of contracts to be made, 
and the affidavit of returns required to be affixed thereto, so that all the instruments 
may be as nearly uniform as possible. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 425 

By your authority there was referred to a special committee the 
question of the advisability of the Returns Office being continued 
for the purpose indicated in the existing law. This committee 
was composed of Capt. J. H. Gibbons, United States Navy; Mr. 
George P. McCabe, Solicitor of the Department of Agriculture; and 
Mr. Frederick A. Tennant, Assistant Commissioner of Patents. The 
committee's report, dated April 22, 1911, is herewith forwarded, 
marked Exhibit No. 1 D. It sets forth the six specific questions sub- 
mitted to the committee as an indication of some of the points to be 
covered in their investigation of the subject. The report of the 
committee is accompanied by recommendations which may be briefly 
stated as follows: 

1. That the Returns Office in the Department of the Interior be 
abolished. 

2. That there be established in each executive department and 
independent Government establishment, and under the supervision 
of the head thereof, a returns office with duties similar to those of the 
Returns Office of the Department of the Interior. 

3. That copies of all contracts, together with related papers re- 
quired to be reduced to writing, be filed in the returns office, except 
such as in the opinion of the head of department of establishment it 
would be against public policy to divulge. 

4. That a certificate be required in place of the oath provided for 
in section 3745. 

5. That it be made the duty of the head of each executive depart- 
ment and independent establishment to require all contracts made by 
them, or under their direction, on behalf of the United States, to be 
reduced to writing, except in case of extraordinary emergency. 

In the course of the commission's investigation it is found that the 
subjects of the maintenance of the Returns Office, the continuance of 
the oath required by section 3745, the requirement of section 3744 
for contracts of the Departments of War, Navy, and Interior to be 
reduced to writing and signed at the end thereof, and of section 3745 
that an affidavit be attached to copies of contracts, have been dis- 
cussed at some length by the officials of the three departments con- 
cerned during the past five years. 

The Special Committee on Government Contracts, appointed by 
the President in 1907, submitted a report to him on the Returns Office 
January 18, 1909. A copy of that report is hereto attached, marked 
Exhibit No. 2 D. It favored the establishment of a returns office in 
each bureau and office of the Government, the contracts and papers on 
file there to be open to public inspection under rules to be made by the 
head of department. It also recommended that section 3744 of the 
Revised Statutes be so amended as to include, in the requirement of 
reducing contracts to writing, the contracts of all departments where 
they involved $2,000 or more. That committee was of the opinion 
that the law as to filing and public inspection should not apply to con- 
tracts and papers which the head of the department considered it 
would be contrary to the public interest to make public. 

Correspondence between the Secretaries of War, Navy, and the In- 
terior, during the past few years, indicates the desire of the three 
departments to have the law changed, particularly with reference to 
the requirement that an affidavit be made by an officer filing a return 



426 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of a public contract in the Returns Office, the departments favoring 
the use of a certificate in place of an affidavit. 

The commission is of the opinion that a change in the existing law 
is desirable in the interest of both economy and efficiency. Publicity 
in the transaction of the business of the Government, and especially 
in the making f contracts involving the expenditure of public money 
tends to prevent fraudulent and extravagant practices and to allay 
the suspicion of corruption which grows in the mind of the people as 
the facility for securing accurate information is withdrawn from them. 

Whatever reasons may have existed in 1862, when the Returns 
Office was established, and a copy of each contract (with the original 
of bids, offers, and proposals) was required to be filed therein by the 
three departments, it is our opinion that conditions have so changed 
as to make the maintenance of a Returns Office for those departments 
only no longer desirable; nor is the requirement of section 3744, 
Revised Statutes, that every contract of those three departments 
alone be in writing, one that should be continued unless modified to 
except small contracts. 

The suggestions of the committees, of which Capt. Gibbons and Mr. 
Wetmore were chairman, hereinbefore referred to, that publicity be 
provided for in the department, bureau, or office concerned in the 
making of contracts, if they were adopted, will not secure those im- 
portant features of publicity which it was and is the main purpose 
of the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior to secure, 
namely, the free access of any person to a copy of a public contract 
after the accuracy and completeness of that copy, with related papers, 
has been proved by affidavit, and it has been filed in a legally estab- 
lished depository beyond the control of the officer or department 
which acted as the agent of the Government in making it. 

While it is the practice of all departments to allow bidders to be 
present, in person or by attorney, when bids are opened, and it is 
repeatedly stated that the public may readily have free access to a 
contract, proposal, etc., in the department in which it is made and 
filed, it is found on investigation to be the general rule not to allow an 
inspection of a contract or related paper unless the person wishing it 
proves his interest in the matter. The three departments required 
to file copies of contracts and originals of related papers in the returns 
office are thus required by law to have their contracting work open to 
public inspection without question and without requiring the citizen 
to give any reason for desiring to see the papers. The departments 
not required by law to allow public inspection uniformly withhold the 
privilege. In no case has a department voluntarily established the 
same degree of publicity as is required of those departments that are 
subject to the rule prescribed in section 3744. 

Public contracts are required by law to be filed in the offices of the 
auditors of the Treasury. This filing of the original of contracts is for 
the purpose of affording the evidence needed in auditing and settling 
accounts. Neither the bids, proposals, etc., upon which a contract is 
based, nor copies thereof, are filed with the contract. Such bids, pro- 
posals, etc., are required to be attached to and filed with copies of 
such contracts as are sent to the returns office. In all branches of the 
service except the Departments of War, Navy, and the Interior, the 
bids, proposals, etc., are retained in the office or department making 
the contract. 



KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 427 

The contracts filed in the offices of the six auditors of the Treasury 
are not open to public inspection. We think they should be, and 
that the classes of papers now required to be attached to the copy of a 
contract under section 3744, Revised Statutes, should be attached to 
and filed with each contract when it goes to the auditor. Under such 
a plan the original of each contract and the original of bids, proposals, 
etc., will be placed together in one office instead of the contract being 
filed in one office and the related papers in another. 

The offices of the auditors are the natural returns offices — the places 
where the completed contract papers should be filed and made avail- 
able for public inspection. Those offices are separate and distinct 
from all the establishments that enter into contracts. By their use 
as returns offices no new offices or employments are necessary. Per- 
sons outside the Government service seldom wish to see the contracts. 
Complete publicity will probably tend to diminish the present small 
demand, so that the service rendered to applicants in each auditor's 
office will not involve an increase of clerical force. 

The present law relating to the returns office makes no exception, 
in the matter of publicity, between ordinary contracts and those 
which, in the public interest, it might be desirable to withhold from 
public inspection. When the head of an executive department, or 
independent establishment, attaches a written statement to the effect 
that it would be against the public interest to make public the contract 
or related papers to which the statement is attached, it should be the 
duty of all officers of the Government to except that contract and 
related papers from the rule allowing inspection. 

The War, Navy, and Interior Departments believe that the require- 
ments of section 3745, Revised Statutes, of an affidavit of the officer 
making a contract, throws upon the Government a large and unneces- 
sary expense. The cost of the notary fees in the thousands of con- 
tracts is considerable. In our opinion a certificate to the same effect 
as the affidavit with the same penalty for making or presenting a false 
certificate would serve all purposes. 

Although section 3744, Revised Statutes, requires all contracts of 
the three departments named to be reduced to writing and to be 
signed at the end thereof, this rigid requirement has been modified by 
special exceptions made by law, and by interpretation of the language 
used. Examples of recent legislation making exceptions to the law 
are the following: 

Ordnance contracts. — Hereafter whenever contracts which are not to be per- 
formed within sixty days are made on behalf of the Government by the Chief of Ord- 
nance, or by officers under him authorized to make them, and are in excess of five 
hundred dollars in amount, such contracts shall be reduced to writing and signed by 
the contracting parties with their names at the end thereof. In all other cases con- 
tracts shall be prepared under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Chief of 
Ordnance. (Act of Mar. 23, 1910, 36 Stat., 261.) 

That the requirements of section thirty-seven hundred and forty-four of the Revised 
Statutes shall not apply to the lease of lands, or easements therein, or of buildings, 
rooms, wharves, or rights of wharfage or dockage, or to the hire of vessels, boats, and 
other floating craft, for use in connection with river and harbor improvements, where 
the period of any such lease or hire is not to exceed three months. (Act of June 25, 
1910, 36 Stat., 676.) 

Departments not covered by section 3744 may make oral contracts 
for large or small amounts. Contracts involving large amounts are 
often made orally. There should be uniformity in the operation of a 



428 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

statute of frauds like section 3744, just as there should be uniformity 
in the matter of publicity of contracts. 

The requirement that a contract shall be made in writing is, of 
course, to be distinguished from the requirement of section 3709, 
Revised Statutes, and similar laws, for publicity in the matter of invi- 
tations for bids and proposals. These latter laws also have been the 
subject of many exceptions and of interpretation as applied to the 
facts of particular cases. 

The commission is of the opinion that section 3744, so far as it 
requires contracts to be reduced to writing and signed at the end 
thereof, should be extended to the contracts of all departments and 
establishments, with exceptions allowing a contract involving less than 
$1,000 to be made orally or by informal writing, and making the stat- 
ute inapplicable in case of extraordinary emergency which may 
involve the loss of life or the destruction of Government property. 

To carry out the recommendations herein made will require changes 
in the law. A draft of a bill to effect these changes is herewith 
transmitted. 

Respectfully submitted. 

F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

W. W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
Harvey S. Chase. 
M. O. Chance, 

Secretary. 



DRAFT OF BILL. 
A BILL To provide for publicity of Government contracts. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled. 

Section 1. That section thirty-seven hundred and forty-four of 
the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as 
follows : 

" Sec. 3744. It shall be the duty of the head of an executive depart- 
ment, and other establishment not under an executive department, 
and the officers or employees under him appointed or authorized to 
make contracts on behalf of the Government, to cause such contracts 
to be reduced to writing and signed by the contracting parties with 
their names at the end thereof: Provided, That the head of an execu- 
tive department, or other establishment not under an executive 
department, may establish appropriate regulations and amend them 
from time to time, under which a contract involving an obligation of 
less than one thousand dollars in value, may be made by written 
proposal and acceptance, or orally, or in such form as may be pre- 
scribed: Provided further, That in a case of extraordinary emergency 
which may involve the loss of life, or the destruction of Government 
property, the head of department or establishment may by written 
order authorize the incurring of liabilities in excess of one thousand 
dollars without a written contract, and when it is impracticable to 



KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 429 

issue such order in advance he may approve in writing the expendi- 
ture made." 

Sec 2. That section thirty-seven hundred and forty-five of the 
Revised Statutes be, and the same is, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec. 3745. It shall be the duty of every officer or emplo3^ee who 
signs a contract on behalf of the Government, involving more than 
one thousand dollars in value, to securely attach thereto all the bids, 
offers, and proposals made by persons to obtain the same, with a 
copy of any advertisement published, or request issued, inviting bids, 
offers, or proposals for the same, and his certificate in the following 
form: 'I certify that the contract hereto annexed is the original of a 

contract made by me personally with ; that I made the same 

fairly without any benefit or advantage to myself, or allowing any 

such benefit or advantage corruptly to the said , or any other 

person; and that the papers accompanying include all those relating 
to the said contract, as required by law.' The contract with such 
papers attached shall be deposited within thirty days, as provided 
in section thirty-seven hundred and forty-three. A contract involv- 
ing less than one thousand dollars, when legally made by written 
proposal and acceptance, shall be filed by attaching the proposal and 
a duplicate or certified copy of the acceptance to the first voucher in 
payment of the liability created; and when a contract is legally made 
by oral agreement only, a certificate that it was so made shall be 
included in or attached to the vouchers in payment." 

Sec 3. That section thirty-seven hundred and forty-six of the 
Revised Statutes be, and the same is, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec. 3746. Every officer or employee who signs a certificate 
required by section thirty-seven hundred and forty-five, knowing the 
same to contain any false statement, shall be guilty of issuing a false 
certificate and shall be liable to the penalty prescribed in section one 
hundred and six of 'An act to codify, revise, and amend the penal 
laws of the United States,' approved March fourth, nineteen hundred 
and nine." 

Sec 4. That section thirty-seven hundred and forty-seven of the 
Revised Statutes be, and the same is, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec. 3747. It shall be the duty of the head of each executive 
department, and other establishment not under an executive depart- 
ment, to furnish the officers and employees under him authorized to 
make contracts on behalf of the Government with instructions setting 
forth their duties, and with appropriate blank forms of contracts and 
of certificates to be attached thereto." 

Sec 5. That section thirty-seven hundred and forty- three of the 
Revised Statutes be, and the same is, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec 3743. All contracts to be made, by virtue of any law, and 
requiring the advance of money, or in any manner connected with 
the settlement of public accounts, shall be deposited promptly in the 
offices of the Auditors of the Treasury, according to the nature of the 
contracts: Provided, That this section shall not apply to the existing 
laws in regard to the contingent funds of Congress. It shall be the 
duty of the auditors to allow the inspection by any person of any 
contract and papers attached thereto deposited in their offices, 
except that no contract or papers attached thereto shall be open to 
such inspection if there shall be filed therewith a certificate of the 
head of the department or establishment under which the contract 



430 KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

is made that it would be contrary to the public interest to allow the 
same to be inspected. The auditors shall furnish certified copies of 
any contract or papers attached thereto deposited in their offices and 
open to public inspection, to any person paying for the same at the 
rate of five cents per hundred words, the moneys so received to be paid 
into the Treasury, and copies so certified shall be admitted in evidence 
equally with the originals thereof in all courts and before all officers 
in any place in or under the jurisdiction of the United States." 

Sec 6. The Secretary of the Interior shall maintain the Returns 
Office in his department, and keep the returns therein open to inspec- 
tion as iioav provided by law, for two years after this act takes effect, 
and the returns clerk shall perform the duties now required by law in 
connection with returns filed therein. After two years from the date 
this act takes effect the duties now required of the returns clerk by 
sections five hundred and fourteen, five hundred and fifteen, and 
eight hundred and eighty-eight of the Revised Statutes, shall be per- 
formed by such clerks or employees as the Secretary of the Interior 
may designate. 

Sec 7. That sections five hundred and twelve, five hundred and 
thirteen, five hundred and fourteen, and frve hundred and fifteen of 
the Revised Statutes be, and the same are hereby, repealed; but 
nothing in this act shall affect the right of persons furnishing materials 
and labor for the construction of public works to receive copies of 
contracts and bonds as provided in the act approved February 
twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and five, nor to require contracts to 
be in writing which have been heretofore specifically excepted by law 
from the provisions of section thirty-seven hundred and forty-four. 

Sec 8. This act shall be in force on and after the first day of July, 
nineteen hundred and twelve. 



Exhibit No. 1 D. 

Washington, D. C, April 22, 1911. 
The President: 

(Through the Commission on Economy and Efficiency.) 

On April 4, 1911, the President's Commission on Economy and 
Efficiency submitted through the Secretary of the President to Capt. 
Gibbons, of the Department of the Navy, Solicitor McCabe, of the 
Department of Agriculture, and Mr. Tennant, Assistant Commissioner 
of Patents, the controversy between the several departments of the 
Government pertaining to section 3744 of the Revised Statutes, 
which provides for filing copies of contracts in a central returns office 
for the Departments of the Interior, War, and Navy, with directions 
to investigate the subject and to obtain such data as are necessary 
to make a complete report and recommendation. 

In considering this inquiry the committee was asked to report 
upon: 

1. Whether in your judgment section 3744 should be amended or repealed, and in 
considering this question to reach a conclusion as to: 

2. Whether in your opinion there should be a central office in which the originals or 
copies of contracts should be on file and available to persons in or out of the service 
who may be interested in obtaining knowledge of contract relations. 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 431 

3. Whether in your opinion it would be better not to have such a central office for 
the several departments, but to make such information accessible in a central office of 
each department or independent establishment as pertains to the business of the 
department or independent establishment. 

4. Whether in your opinion it would be still more desirable not to have a central 
office for the Government as a whole, or a central office for each department, but instead 
to make contracts available in each of the several bureaus or divisions of the service 
in which the contracts originated. 

5. Whether in your opinion it would be desirable to have such information available 
or accessible in the office of auditors for each of the several departments under the 
jurisdiction of the Treasury. 

6. Whether in your opinion any different practice should be adopted for any partic- 
ular department in the service, due to a different character of business or transactions. 

The returns office of the Department of the Interior was estab- 
lished under the act of June 2, 1862 (12 Stat. L., 400), as amended 
by the act of July 17, 1862 (12 Stat. L., 600). These laws are now 
embodied in sections 512-515, 3744-3747 of the Revised Statutes, 
inclusive. 

Section 512 provides for the establishment of a returns office 
in the Interior Department, in which shall be filed all returns of con- 
tracts made by the Secretaries of War, Navy, and Interior. 

Section 513 provides that the clerk of the returns office shall file 
all the returns made to the office so that the same shall be made of 
easy access, keeping all the returns made by the same officer in the 
same place and numbering them in the order in which they are made. 

Section 514 provides that the clerk of the returns office shall keep 
an index book with the names of the contracting parties and the 
number of each contract opposite the names, and shall submit the 
index book and the returns to any person desiring to inspect the same. 

Section 515 authorizes the returns clerk to furnish copies of the 
returns to any person paying therefor at the rate of 5 cents per hun- 
dred words, and also to certify the same. 

Section 3744 prescribes that each contract made by the Secre- 
taries of War, Navy, and Interior, or by the officers under them ap- 
pointed to make such contracts, shall be reduced to writing and 
signed by the contracting parties, with their names at the end thereof, 
and that a copy of said contract shall be, together with all bids, offers, 
and proposals, and any advertisement inviting bids, offers, or pro- 
posals, filed in the returns office of the Department of the Interior 
as soon after the contract is made as possible and within 30 days; 
that all copies and papers in connection with such contracts shall be 
attached together by ribbons and seals and marked by numbers in 
regular order. 

Section 3745 prescribes the form of the oath of disinterestedness 
which the officer making the contract shall execute and affix to his 
return. 

Section 3746 provides a penalty for omitting to make a proper 
return. 

Section 3747 provides that the Secretaries of War, Navy, and In- 
terior shall furnish to officers appointed by them, with authority 
to make contracts, printed letters of instruction, forms of contracts, 
and the affidavits of returns, so that all instruments may be as nearly 
uniform as possible. 

The legislation creating the Returns Office resulted from conditions 
arising during the early part of the Civil War. It appears that 
because of newspaper agitation asserting that contractors for war 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 28 



432 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

material were defrauding the Government, in July, 1861, a committee 
was appointed by the House of Representatives to make an investi- 
gation of the matter. From the report of that committee, which 
was submitted in December, 1861, it appeared that innumerable 
frauds had been perpetrated in connection with the letting of Gov- 
ernment contracts. This led to the enactment of the law providing 
for the Returns Office, which was subsequently embodied in the 
Revised Statutes. It is significant that this law included only the 
War, Navy, and Interior Departments, although it seems quite, 
likely that the other departments were more or less concerned in the 
making of contracts relating to the war, and it may be reasonably 
inferred that suspicion did not attach to them or they would un- 
doubtedly have been placed under the same law at that time. 

The office of the returns clerk has been maintained constantly 
since the passage of the above legislation, the contracts filed therein 
comprising all contracts and licenses made by the Government, in- 
cluding water rights granted by the Reclamation Service. (See the 
opinion of the Attorney General rendered Nov. 8, 1909, 28 Attorney 
General Reports, 66, advance sheets.) 

The following is a statement of the business methods and advan- 
tages of the Returns Office, furnished by the returns clerk on April 20, 
1911, which is so concise that it is embodied herein in toto: 

Number of contracts filed in Returns Office for each of the past five years. 



1906. 
1907. 
1908. 
1909. 
1910. 



Total 

Average 

Grand total for five years . 
General average per annum 



War. 



8,000 
7,950 
8,105 
7,997 
7,974 



40, 026 
8,005 



Navy. 



13, 177 
8,653 
4,809 
4,406 

4,584 



35, 629 
7,126 



Interior. 



2,377 
2,939 
4,246 
5,782 
2,034 



17, 378 
3,476 

93, 033 

18, 600 



Examined 

by outside 

parties. 



157 

487 

1,476 

1,529 



3,649 
912 



1 Not accessible. 

Certified copies are required by law to be charged for at the rate of 5 cents per 
100 words copied. Since January 1, 1906, there have been 2,530,000 words of cer- 
tified copied matter, amounting to $1,265. It is proper to add that the greater portion 
of this class of information is taken by the public in the form of notes, so that the 
certified copies, as a rule, are ordered for court purposes only. 

The amount of space occupied by contracts since 1862 is approximately 5,000 cubic 
feet, exclusive of aisles. At the present time it requires about 500 cubic feet annually, 
which is usually divided in the following proportion: 

Cubic feet. 

War Department 250 

Navy Department 175 

Interior Department 75 

The flat filing system has a maximum capacity of 8J by 14 inches, and the index 
is kept on 3 by 5 inch cards, decimal system. This system is so arranged that the 
contracts of each department are filed together, those of each bureau of the department 
together, and those of each officer together. This is in strict accordance with sections 
513 and 514, United States Revised Statutes. This method of filing saves approxi- 
mately one-half the cards used in indexing, there being 1 card for each contract, 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 433 

indexed by contractors' names, and but 1 card per annum for an officer, even though 
he files 1,000 contracts. This makes the double index required by law on 1,000 con- 
tracts made by one officer, by using only 1,001 cards, which is a saving of practically 
one-half on carding. 

The advantages are: A safeguard against a recurrence of such enormous frauds as 
were perpetrated during the Civil War. This is clearly shown by the freedom from 
criticism in these three departments since the enactment of the Returns Office law. 
This protects the Government against dishonest officers and protects the honest officers 
against, unjust criticism. It furnishes a place where any interested person has a legal 
right to examine any contract or proposal made to either of the three departments 
concerned in exactly the same manner as any one would be permitted to inspect and 
examine the recording of deeds, etc. These contracts are of a public nature, and the 
right of inspection should continue to be provided for by law. 

The clerical amount of time consumed is the entire time of one person and about one- 
half the time of but one assistant. The cost of maintenance is about $2,500 per annum 
in salaries, which is such a reasonable sum for safeguarding and throwing open to 
public inspection the entire contract relations of the three departments concerned 
as to suggest the advisability of extending the same protection to all branches of the 
Government. 

In February, 1906, the Secretary of the Navy transmitted to the 
Secretary of the Interior a letter from the Paymaster General of the 
Nav} T , suggesting the repeal of the law establishing the Returns 
Office, upon the ground that the keeping of records and files of adver- 
tisements, bids, proposals, contracts, etc., had been so improved 
since the passage of the act creating the Returns Office, and it having 
been the custom of that bureau to furnish copies of all contracts to 
interested persons upon application, that there appeared to be no 
reason for applying to the Returns Office of the Department of the 
Interior for such information as could be obtained from the bureau 
making the contract; and, further, that the oath of disinterested- 
ness causes the useless expenditure of a large amount of money, the 
fee for such execution being 50 cents for each contract. 

On March 24, 1906, the Secretary of the Interior replied to the 
letter from the Secretary of the Navy, stating that he was unable 
to concur with the views of the Paymaster General, and suggested 
that the Returns Office should not be abolished, but should be 
extended to include all the departments in such a manner as to make 
a uniform returns system. The grounds given by the Secretary of 
the Interior were mainly that: 

First. The granting of permission to private parties to examine 
contracts does not depend upon the volition of any officer or bureau, 
but is required by law under penalty for noncompliance, thus afford- 
ing protection through publicity. 

Second. That the contract papers are placed beyond the power of 
the contracting officers to manipulate or alter, and a heavy penalty 
is imposed for the omission to file such contract papers. 

The Secretary of the Interior agreed with the officials of the Navy 
Department that the oath of disinterestedness involved an unneces- 
sary expense and that it would be desirable to obtain legislation pro- 
viding that such oaths should be administered by certain designated 
officers of the United States, and prohibiting such officers from 
receiving fees therefor. It may be stated in this connection that on 
January 5, 1905, the President issued an Executive order prohibiting 
notarial charges by notaries who are Government employees for per- 
forming any notarial act for an officer of the Government in his 
official capacity, but on March 27, 1905, the Chief of the Patents and 



434 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Miscellaneous Division submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for 
his approval and for reference to the President a memorandum sug- 
gesting amendment of the Executive order so as to make it inappli- 
cable to oaths of disinterestedness or other oaths required to be 
made by law, provided the work in connection therewith be not per- 
formed during office hours. The then Assistant Attorney General 
for the Interior (Mr. Campbell), to whom the memorandum was 
referred, concurred in the view of the Chief of the Patents and Mis- 
cellaneous Division that the Executive order should be amended as 
stated, and it was so amended by the Executive order dated March 
31, 1905. After further amendment and at present the order reads 
as follows: 

It is hereby ordered that hereafter no officer, clerk, or employee in the executive 
service of the Government (except postmasters at offices of the fourth class and rural 
carriers) who is also a notary public, shall charge or receive any compensation what- 
ever for performing any notarial act for an officer, clerk, or employee of the Govern- 
ment in his official capacity, or for any person when, in the case of such person, the 
act is performed during the hours of such notary's service to the Government. Dis- 
obedience of this order shall be ground for immediate dismissal from the service. 

This order shall not apply to oaths of disinterestedness or other oaths required to 
be made by law, provided that the work in connection therewith is not performed 
during office hours. 

For the purposes of this order the expression "office hours" shall be construed to 
include the half hour allowed each working day for luncheon. 

No further action appears to have been taken toward revising the 
returns system until in 1908, when the Secretary of the Navy recom- 
mended to Congress that section 3744 of the Revised Statutes be so 
amended as to permit the Navy Department to withhold confidential 
plans and specifications from the files of the Returns Office, the 
object being to maintain the plans, specifications, and data relating* 
to contracts for the construction of naval vessels and equipment in 
secrecy and thus prevent the secret agents of foreign powers from 
obtaining copies of the plans and specifications of this character. 

On April 6, 1908, a bill was introduced in Congress (S. 5616), which 
having been favorably reported by the Senate Committee on Naval 
Affairs was passed by the Senate on April 15, 1908. It failed, how- 
ever, to become a law. 

During 1908 a committee on regulations of the Department of the 
Interior investigated the returns system and at a meeting held 
November 3, 1908, recommended to the Secretary of the Interior 
that legislation be secured: 

First. To provide for the repeal of the requirement for filing copies 
of contracts and original proposals in the Returns Office. 

Second. For the permanent retention of all proposals in the admin- 
istrative office negotiating the contracts. 

Third. For the provision of facilities for publicity of such pro- 
posals in the administrative offices and of the contracts in the auditors' 
offices. 

Fourth. For the abolition of the Returns Office and the distribu- 
tion of all records contained therein to the several departments con- 
cerned in making the contracts; and 

Fifth. That such proposed legislation be referred to the Special 
Committee on Government Contracts, which had at that time been 
appointed by the President. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 435 

The Special Committee on Government Contracts, in a report to 
the President, dated January 19, 1909, approved the recommenda- 
tion of the Committee on Regulations of the Department of the Inte- 
rior and suggested a form of bill amending section 3744 and repealing 
sections 512-515 and 3745 and 3746. In the report of that com- 
mittee it was pointed out that although many thousands of contracts 
were filed in the Returns Office, the number of inquiries made in 
regard to them each year was a small percentage of the number 
handled. 

It was further stated that : 

The requirement of section 3743, Revised Statutes, as amended by the act of July 31, 
1894, that the original contract shall be filed with the proper auditor of the Treasury 
Department and the publicity generally maintained in the several offices and bureaus 
of the three departments named fully accomplish the purpose for which the returns 
office was created, while the making of the necessary copies and the execution of the 
required oaths of disinterestedness sent to the Returns Office involve the three depart- 
ments in large and useless expenditures. 

It is not proposed to do away with publicity in connection with Government con- 
tracts, but rather to extend the requirements therefor in a thoroughly effective manner 
to all the executive departments and establishments of the Government not under 
an executive department. 

***** * * 

It appears that the heads of the various departments concerned in this matter are 
convinced that the present system does not secure the publicity intended; that it 
involves large expense which is entirely useless, and that the desired results can be 
accomplished more economically in time and money by abolishing the Returns Office 
and by requiring certain procedure which does not differ materially from the present 
practice of most of the administrative offices. 

During the year 1908 the Secretary of the Navy also submitted to 
the Secretary of the Interior a draft of the bill amending section 
3744 hi substantially the manner suggested by the Special Committee 
on Government Contracts. This bill received the approval of Sec- 
retary of the Interior Garfield. ' Subsequently, a similar bill was sub- 
mitted to Secretary of the Interior Ballinger, who, while approving 
the substance of the measure, suggested certain changes in form. 
In each of these bills the oath of disinterestedness is omitted and a 
certificate is substituted therefor which embodies the substance of 
the oath of disinterestedness now prescribed by section 3745 of the 
Revised Statutes. It is provided that this certificate shall accompany 
the contract when returned to the proper officer having charge of 
the depository for such contracts, and that in event of failure or 
neglect to transmit the required papers within a specified time, unless 
prevented by unavoidable causes not within his control, the officer 
shall be considered guilty of misdemeanor and shall be fined not 
more than $500, and, further, that every officer who shall make a 
false or fraudulent certificate shall be subject to the penalty provided 
by section 5438 of the Revised Statutes. 

The recent correspondence from the Attorney General, Secretary 
of Agriculture, and Postmaster General, which has been placed in 
the hands of the present committee, indicates that none of these 
officials is of the opinion that the establishment of a single central 
return office would be beneficial to his department. 

Inquiry at the several departments, as well as at the Returns 
Office, indicates that persons desiring to have access to contracts 
■apply to the departmental or bureau officer with whom the contract 
is made. 



436 EEPOETS OF THE commission on economy and efficiency. 

Modern business methods in the War and Navy Departments 
have introduced improved systems of keeping records and files, 
access to which is so easy that publicity as a preventive of fraud in 
contracts for war material can readily be obtained without deposit- 
ing a copy of all contracts in an office maintained by another execu- 
tive department. 

Original contracts involving the expenditure of public money are 
deposited in the Treasury Department. Copies of the same, together 
with all bids, proposals, advertisements, etc., should be retained by 
the department in which they originate. It is now the custom of the 
departments to supply applicants with copies of contracts in which 
they are interested, or detailed information connected therewith. 
Many of these contracts are on printed forms, but where there is 
much clerical work in making copies, the cost of this work should be 
borne by the applicant. 

In the case of confidential plans and specifications, such as for 
example might be included in a contract for fortifications made by 
the War Department or one for battleships made by the Navy De- 
partment, provision should be made giving the head of an execu- 
tive department authority to withhold information concerning such 
contracts under a general provision that the publishing thereof would 
be contrary to the public interest. 

In view of the foregoing, this committee respectfully submits the 
f olio wing recommendations : 

1. That legislation be enacted which will abolish the Returns 
Office in the Department of the Interior; this, it is submitted, is 
necessary in view of the fact that the special conditions which 
required the establishment of that office have long since passed 
away and its further retention imposes a burden upon the adminis- 
tration of the business of the Departments of War, Navy, and Inte- 
rior, without any corresponding advantage. 

2. That in lieu of the General Keturns Office created by sections 
512, 513, 514, and 515 of the Revised Statutes there be established 
in each executive department and independent Government estab- 
lishment not under the control of an executive department a 
Returns Office whose functions on behalf of such department or 
establishment will, in general, be similar to those now performed by 
the existing Returns Office for the Departments of War, Navy, and 
Interior. 

3. That each Returns Office shall be conducted under the direct 
supervision of the head of the executive department or independ- 
ent establishment in which it is located; that, with the exceptions 
hereinafter suggested, copies of all contracts, together with related 
papers, entered into by the department or independent establish- 
ment, and required to be reduced to writing, shall be filed in the 
Returns Office of the department or independent establishment; 
that instead of the oath required by section 3745 of the Revised 
Statutes, the officer transmitting the contract to the Returns Office 
be required to attach thereto a certificate to the same effect as the 
oath, which, in our opinion, would serve the same purpose. The 
work of administering oaths in this connection is burdensome to a 
degree upon notaries public in the Departments of War, Navy, and 
Interior, as is shown by the fact that during the past three years the 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 437 

Navy Department alone has filed in the Returns Office certified 
copies of nearly 19,000 contracts; of course, if the requirement of the 
oath be extended to all contracts in connection with the creation of 
a Returns Office in each department or independent establishment the 
time consumed in administering oaths would be materially increased. 

4. That the head of each department or independent establishment 
be authorized to withhold from filing in the Returns Office, or to refuse 
to deliver copies of any contract, the provisions of which, in his judg- 
ment, it would be against public policy to divulge. In our opinion, a 
lack of such a provision is a serious defect in existing law. Express 
provision in this legislation should be made to protect the right of 
subcontractors and material men to be furnished with certified copies 
of agreements of their defaulting contractors, conferred by the act of 
Congress approved February 24, 1905 (33 Stats., 812); this statute 
provides that subcontractors and material men, and such persons 
only, shall have a right of action upon the certified copy of such con- 
tracts; it is not deemed advisable to authorize an administrative 
officer to impair a right of action which Congress has expressly con- 
ferred by enabling him to withhold the instrument upon which such 
right of action is to be enforced. 

5. That it be made the duty of the head of each of the executive 
departments and independent establishments to require all contracts 
made by them or under their direction, on behalf of the United States, 
to be reduced to writing, except those for services, supplies, or equip- 
ment needed in an extraordinary emergency, such as — in the case of 
the Department of Agriculture — services, supplies, and equipment 
required in fighting forest fires, or in eradicating a contagious disease 
of live stock, such as the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the 
northeastern part of the United States in the fall and whiter of 1908. 

6. Sections 512, 513, 514, and 515, and 3744, 3745, and 3747 of the 
Revised Statutes, should be repealed by an act embodying the fore- 
going recommendations. Section 3746 of the Revised Statutes will 
also have to be repealed, since that section provides a penalty for any 
officer who fails to make a return to the office created by sections 512, 
513, 514, and 515, supra. 

The papers transmitted to this committee are returned herewith. 
Respectfully submitted. 

J. H. Gibbons. 

Geo. P. McCabe. 

Frederick A. Tennaxt. 



Exhibit No. 2 D. 

Washington, D. C, January 18, 1909. 
The President: 

The Special Committee on Government Contracts appointed by you 
expects within a short time to submit a report of the result of its 
labors with its recommendations. 

In its examination of the numerous contract forms in use in the 
several departments, etc., consideration was necessarily given to 
departmental regulations, and special statutory provisions affecting 
the execution of contracts and bonds. In this wav the attention of 



438 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the committee was drawn to the requirements of certain sections of the 
Revised Statutes relating to the filing of copies of contracts and 
accompanying papers in the Returns Office. 

Although the subject is one not specially referred to the com- 
mittee, it is so closely related to the matters in hand that it was pro- 
posed by the committee to include some suggestions in its report 
respecting the Returns Office. An independent investigation of the 
subject recently undertaken by a committee of the Department of the 
Interior, whose recommendations have been approved and referred to 
this committee by the Secretary of the Interior for consideration, 
leads us to bring this matter to your attention in a preliminary report, 
so that if you deem it expedient proper steps may be taken during the 
present session of the Congress to secure the necessary legislative 
action. 

The provisions of law regarding the Returns Office require that a 
copy of every contract executed by the Secretary of War, the Secre- 
tary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior or the officers of 
said departments, shall be filed in the Returns Office of the Depart- 
ment of the Interior, together with all bids, offers, and proposals, and 
also copy of any advertisements which may have been published 
inviting such bids. 

This legislation resulted from conditions arising after the opening 
of the Civil War and was adopted in pursuance of a recommendation 
of a committee of the House of Representatives, being the acts of 
June 2, 1862 (12 Stat., 411), and July 17, 1862 (12 Stat,, 600), now 
sections 512-515 and 3744-3747 of the Revised Statutes. 

The purpose of these acts was to secure such publicity in connection 
with all contracts made by these three departments as to prevent 
possible fraud. 

The experience of more than 40 years since the passage of these acts 
has shown that the publicity proposed to be provided in this manner 
has not been effective. 

Many thousands of contracts are filed annually in the Returns Office, 
and the number of inquiries made in regard to them each year is an 
insignificant percentage of the number of contracts filed annually. A 
statement of the business transacted by the Returns Office during the 
calendar years of 1907 and 1908 is transmitted herewith. (Exhibit 
A.) From this it appears that during this period of two years 
35,164 contracts were received. There are doubtless hundreds of 
thousands of contracts on file, and yet during the period referred to 
only 303 contracts were examined by outside parties and only 103 
certified copies made. 

In many of the offices of the three departments named, under exist- 
ing practice the material papers connected with the making of the 
contract are open to inspection by all interested parties. 

The requirement of section 3743, Revised Statutes, as amended by 
the act of July 31, 1894, that the original contract shall be filed with 
the proper Auditor of the Treasury Department and the publicity 
generally maintained in the several offices and bureaus of the three 
departments named fully accomplish the purpose for which the 
Returns Office was created, while the making of the necessary copies 
and the execution of the required oaths of disinterestedness sent to 
the Returns Office involve the three departments in large and useless 
expenditures. 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 439 

It is not proposed to do away with publicity in connection with 
Government contracts, but rather to extend the requirements therefor 
in a thoroughly effective manner to all the executive departments and 
establishments of the Government not under an executive department. 

The advisability of modifying or repealing the requirements relating 
to the Returns Office was fully discussed in a letter of the Paymaster 
General of the Navy to the Secretary of the Navy under date of Novem- 
ber 6, 1905, copv herewith (Exhibit B), and in a further communica- 
tion of January 31, 1906 (Exhibit C). 

On February 6, 1906, this correspondence was transmitted to the 
Secretary of War, and the Assistant Secretary on February 9, 1906, 
concurred in the views of the Paymaster General of the Navy. (Ex- 
hibit D.) 

On March 24, 1906, in a letter from the Acting Secretary of the 
Interior to the Secretary of the Navy, the recommendations of the 
Paymaster General of the Navy were discussed, but were not con- 
curred in. (Exhibit E.) 

The report of the committee of the Department of the Interior here- 
inbefore referred to, recommending that the Returns Office be abolished 
and that other provisions be made to secure proper publicity of Gov- 
ernment contracts, approved by the Secretary of the Interior, is also 
transmitted herewith. (Exhibit F.) 

A review of this correspondence shows that the publicity desired 
can be secured in a manner much more convenient in connection with 
the transaction of public business and at far less expense. The Navy 
Department transmitted to the Returns Office during the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1905, 7,775 contracts. The cost of making copies of 
the contracts and preparing the necessary papers is very great, but 
there is no means of accurately estimating it. Each return must be 
accompanied by an oath of disinterestedness signed by the officer 
executing the contract, the fees for these affidavits being usually 50 
cents, so that on this basis the cost for the Navy Department contracts 
alone would be about $4,000 annually, and this represents but a small 
part of the expense for that department, as it does not include the cost 
of the clerical work, which is hi itself a very considerable item. 

It appears that the heads of the various departments concerned in 
this matter are convinced that the present system does not secure the 
publicity intended; that it involves large expense which is entirely 
useless; and that the desired results can be accomplished more eco- 
nomically in time and money by abolishing the Returns Office and by 
requiring certain procedure which does not differ materially from the 
present practice of most of the administrative offices. 

In view of the foregoing, all the members of this committee, except 
Mr. W. W. Warwick, who is now on duty in the Isthmus of Panama 
and who has not participated in the preparation of this report, join in 
recommending the enactment of a law substantially as follows: 

A BILL To provide for publicity in the making of Government contracts. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That section thirty-seven hundred and forty-four of the Revised 
Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: 

"Sec. 3744. It shall be the duty of the head of every executive department or 
other establishment not under any of the executive departments or of their officers 
under them appointed or authorized to make contract on behalf of the Government 
to cause such contract to be reduced to writing and signed by the contracting par- 
ties with their names at the end thereof whenever the obligation to be assumed is 



440 REPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the sum of two thousand dollars or more. A copy of such contract, together with 
the originals of all advertisements, bids, offers, and proposals made to obtain the 
same, shall be filed and kept open for inspection in the bureau or office of the execu- 
tive department or other establishment not under any of the executive departments 
having supervision of the business to which the contract relates. The head of each 
executive department or other establishment shall make rules and regulations to 
govern the filing and inspection of the papers herein referred to: Provided, That the 
requirments of filing, inspection, and furnishing copies shall not apply to any con- 
tract which, in the opinion of the head of the department or other establishment, is 
of such a nature that the publishing thereof would be contrary to the public interest. " 

Sec 2. That the Secretary of the Interior shall, upon the request of the Secretary 
of War or the Secretary of the Navy, respectively transmit to the department of 
which the secretary making the request is the head all returns made in connection 
With contracts which have not been fully performed; such returns when received 
shall be filed and kept open for inspection in the same manner as returns under 
other contracts provided for in section three hereof. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of every officer who signs a contract on behalf of 
the Government to transmit within sixty days after the signing thereof to the bureau 
or office designated in section one of this act as the depository of such contract, all 
papers required by said section to be filed and kept open for inspection, and he shall 
certify that the same includes a true copy of the contract and all the original papers 
in relation to the making of the contract not required by law to be filed with the 
auditor. A certified copy of the papers and certificate so transmitted shall be fur- 
nished to any person paying therefor at the rate of five cents for every hundred words 
or fraction thereof. 

Sec 4. Every officer who makes any such contract and fails or neglects to transmit 
the required papers within the time specified in section three, unless prevented by 
unavoidable accident or causes not within his control, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars; and every officer 
who shall knowingly make a false or fraudulent certificate as to the papers or copies 
required to be made by him under this act shall be liable to the pains and penalties 
provided in section fifty-four hundred and thirty-eight of the Revised Statutes. 

Sec 5. A copy of the papers transmitted and of the certificate made under the 
provisions of this act, when authenticated by the seal of the department, or in the 
usual manner of authenticating copies of papers by any other establishment not 
under an executive department, shall be evidence in any prosecution against any 
officer for a violation of the provisions of this act. 

Sec 6. That sections five hundred and twelve, five hundred and thirteen, five 
hundred and fourteen, five hundred and fifteen, thirty-seven hundred and forty- 
five, thirty-seven hundred and forty-six, and thirty-seven .hundred and forty-seven 
of the Revised Statutes be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 

Respectfully, 

Jas. A. Wetmore, 

Chairman of Committee, 
Chief of Law and Records Division, 

Supervising Architect's Ojf-ce.. 
B. F. Harrah, 
Chief Law Clerk, Office Comptroller of the Treasury. 
J. S. Carpenter, 
Pay Inspector, United States Navy, 
Assistant to the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, 

Navy Department. 
Morris Bien, 
Supervising Engineer, Reclamation Service, 

Department of the Interiors 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 441 

Exhibit A. 

returns office. 

January 14, 1909. 
The following report shows the receipt and disposition of work on hand January l t 
1907, and that received during the years 1907 and 1908: 

Number contracts on file Jan. 1, 1907: 

Not examined or acknowledged 20, 476 

Not recorded 23, 911 

Work performed during 1907 : 

Contracts received 18, 004 

Contracts examined and acknowledged 38, 480 

Contracts recorded 41, 915 

Contracts returned for correction 892 

Contracts withdrawn 118 

Contracts examined by outside parties 54 

Contracts certified 36 

Letters written 4. 219 

Work performed during 1908 : 

Contracts received and acknowledged 17. 160 

Contracts carded 11. 520 

Contracts on file not carded 5. 640 

Contracts returned for correction 291 

Contracts withdrawn 274 

Contracts examined by outside parties 249 

Contracts certified * 67 

Letters written 3. 291 



Very respectfully, 



John W. Watson. 

Returns Clerk. 



Exhibit B. 

Navy Department, 
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, 

Washington, I). C, November 6, 1905. 

Sir: In connection with my annual report on the operations of the Bureau of Sup- 
plies and Accounts for the year ended June 30, 1905, 1 desire to bring to your particular 
attention the provisions of the second paragraph of section 429, Revised Statutes, 
which reads as follows : 

"A statement of all offers for contracts for supplies and services made during the 
preceding year, by classes, indicating such as have been accepted." 

This requirement of an itemized statement concerning contracts and bidders did 
not entail a great deal of additional and unnecessary printing at the time of the passage 
of the act, or soon thereafter. But the act was passed many years ago, before the 
business of the Navy Department had assumed anything like its present proportions t 
and, to show how greatly this additional printing has grown in the recent past, it is 
only necessary to state that, although the text and all the tabulated statements con- 
tained in the annual report for 1905 cover but 42 printed pages, the full report as 
printed will cover 404 pages, these additional 362 pages being devoted exclusively to 
the list of contracts and bidders required by the section quoted above. 

Another purely unnecessary and out-of-date provision of the law in regard to contracts 
is found in section 3744, Revised Statutes, which requires that: 

"A copy of which shall be filed by the officer making and signing the contract in 
the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior, as soon after the contract is made 
as possible, and within 30 days, and with all bids, offers, and proposals to him, made by 
persons to obtain same, and with a copy of any advertisements he may have pub- 
lished inviting bids, offers, or proposals for the same. All the copies and papers in 
relation to each contract shall be attached by a ribbon and seal, and marked by 
numbers in regular order, according to the number of papers composing the whole 
return." 

The date of the passage of this act was June 2, 1862; and, if I am correctly informed, it 
was the intention at that time to make the Returns Office of the Department of the 



442 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Interior the regular depository for all such official papers. The business of the execu- 
tive branches of the Government, however, has grown so much since that time, and 
the keeping of the records and files has been so improved, that the requirements of 
section 3744, Revised Statutes, has long since become an anachronism — though, unfor- 
tunately, the rigidity of its terms has been in no wise relaxed. 

It is respectfully requested that the department give consideration to these matters; 
and that, if deemed proper, the Congress be urged to remove from the statute books 
both of these objectionable and useless sections. 

Respectfully, H. T. B. Harris, 

Paymaster General, United States Navy. 
The Secretary of the Navy, 

Navy Department, Washington, D. C. 



Exhibit C. 

Navy Department, 
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, 

Washington, D. C, January 31, 1906. 

Sir: I desire to invite your attention to my letter No. 40174 of November 6, 1905, 
wherein I recommended the removal from the statute books of that part of section 3744, 
Revised Statutes, which requires that a copy of each contract shall be filed in the 
Returns Office of the Department of the Interior, and to further point out at this time 
the total uselessness of the statute in question. 

As I previously stated, this act was passed June 2, 1862, with the probable intention 
of making the Returns Office the regular public repository for all such official papers. 
It was also intended that these contracts should be filed so as to be easy of access to 
any person desiring to inspect the same, and who could, by paying a fee of 5 cents per 
every 100 words, obtain a certified copy thereof. 

The keeping of the records and files of proposals, contracts, etc., has so improved 
since the passage of this act, that it has been the custom of this bureau for several years 
to furnish, without cost, to any party applying for the same, either in writing or in 
person, complete copies of all contracts in which he might be interested or detailed 
information in connection therewith. There is absolutely no reason, therefore, for 
any person applying to the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior for this 
information, when it can be obtained upon the application to this bureau. 

The business of the Navy Department has grown, and is growing, to such enormous 
proportions that the actual cost to the department alone of making these copies of 
contracts for the Returns Office is now a large item of expense. To each copy of con- 
tract there must be affixed the affidavits prescribed by section 3745, Revised Statutes, 
which cost 50 cents each; and as there were 4,569 copies prepared during the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1905, the affidavits cost $2,284.50, to which should be added the 
pay for clerical work involved in making these copies, preparing the necessary papers, 
■etc., whereas the clerks so employed are urgently needed on other more important 
work. The purchasing pay officers stationed near each of the navy yards throughout 
the country must also furnish to the Returns Office copies of all contracts entered into 
by them, so that it would be safe to say that this liability to the Navy Department 
atone, for the continuance of this purely unnecessary practice, approximates something 
like $8,000 per annum. 

In the interests of good administration and business economy, I can not, therefore, 
too strongly urge the repeal of the following portion of section 3744, Revised Statutes: 

"A copy of which shall be filed by the officer making and signing the contract in 
the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior, as soon after the contract is 
made as possible, and within 30 days, together with all bids, offers, and proposals 
made to him by persons to obtain the same, and with a copy of any advertisement 
he may have published inviting bids, offers, or proposals for the same. All the copies 
and papers in relation to each contract shall be attached together by a ribbon and 
seal and marked by numbers in regular order, according to the number of papers 
composing the whole return." 

Should the foregoing requirement be abolished, the repeal of sections 3745 and 3746, 
Revised Statutes, would follow as a matter of course. 

Respectfully, H. T. B. Harris, 

Paymaster General, United States Navy. 

The Secretary of the Navy. 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 443 

Exhibit D. 

War Department, 
Washington, D. C, February 9, 1906. 

Sir: Replying to your letter of the 6th instant, inclosing a communication from 
the Paymaster General of the Navy concerning the repeal of so much of section 3744, 
Revised Statutes, as requires a copy of each contract to be filed in the Returns Office 
of the Interior Department, I have the honor to quote for your information an extract 
from the report of this department submitted to the Keep Commission on October 23, 
1905, dealing with the repealing of this provision of law as follows: 

"In paragraph 559 of the Regulations for the Army, approved by the President, it 
is provided as follows : 

"'All contracts will be executed in triplicate. One number is for the Auditor for 
the War Department, one for the head of the bureau to which the contract pertains, 
and one for the contractor. Two copies will be made, one for the contracting officer 
and the other for the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior.' 

"Section 3744, enacted in 1862, enjoins upon the Secretary of War, the Secretary of 
the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior the duty of riling a copy of every contract 
executed by them in the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior within 30 
days after the contract is made, together with the bids and copies of any advertisement 
therefor. As all of the material papers to a contract are necessarily filed with the 
Auditor for the War Department in connection with auditing of vouchers that are 
paid under the contract, a practically complete return of the whole transaction is thus 
lodged in an independent Government office. This seems substantially to answer the 
purpose of the law, and with a view to reducing the paper work of the Army the ques- 
tion has been raised whether there is any real necessity for filing these copies and papers 
in the Returns Office of the Interior Department, and whether some amendment of 
the law in this particular might not be in the interests of the public service, particularly 
if an official gazette should be established, in which all matters relating to Govern- 
ment contracts would receive fullest publicity." 

This department is heartily in accord with your views as to economic advantage in 
repealing this law, which, as far as it has been able to determine, subserves no necessary 
purpose in the governmental administration. I shall therefore be glad to cooperate 
with you in any steps which you may suggest to that end. It might be well, however, 
before the respective departments concerned present the matter to Congress, to confer 
with the chairman of Keep Commission, in order to see if the commission has come to 
any conclusion regarding its action upon the department's recommendation as above 
set forth. 

Respectfully, R. S. Oliver, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 

The Secretary of the Navy. 



Exhibit E. 

Department op the Interior, 

Washington, March 24, 1906. 
The Secretary op the Navy. 

Sir: Your letter of the 6th ultimo has been received, transmitting copy of a letter 
from the Paymaster General of the Navy suggesting the repeal of so much of section 
3744 of the Revised Statutes as requires the filing of every contract made by the 
Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, or the Secretary of the Interior, or any 
officer under their jurisdiction in the Returns Office of the Interior Department, together 
with all bids or proposals, advertisements, etc., relating to the same, and also suggesting 
the repeal of section 3745 requiring such officers to affix to such returns of contracts 
an oath of disinterestedness in the form prescribed by said section, also of section 3746, 
providing a penalty for the neglect to make such return or oath. Prior to taking 
action on the recommendation of the Paymaster General you request an expression 
of the views of this department relative to the proposed change of law. 

The section in question reads as follows: 

"Sec 3744. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, of the Secretary of the 
Navy, and of the Secretary of the Interior to cause and require every contract made 
by them severally on behalf of the Government or by other officers under them ap- 
pointed to make such contracts to be reduced to writing and signed by the contracting 
parties with their names at the ends thereof, a copy of which shall be filed by the 
officer making and signing the contract in the Returns Office of the Department of the 
Interior as soon after the contract is made as possible and within thirty days, together 



444 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

with all bids, offers, and proposals to him made by persons to obtain the same and 
with a copy of any advertisement he may have published inviting bids, offers, or 
proposals for the same. All the copies and papers in relation to each contract shall 
be attached together by a ribbon and seal and marked by numbers in regular order, 
-according to the number of papers composing the whole return. 

"Sec 3745. It shall be the further duty of the officer before making his return, 
according to the preceding section, to affix to the same his affidavit in the following 
form, sworn to before some magistrate having authority to administer oaths: 'I do 
solemnly swear (or affirm) that the copy of contract hereto annexed is an exact copy 
of the contract made by me personally with * * *; that I made the same fairly, 
without any benefit or advantage to myself or allowing any such benefit or advantage 
corruptly to the said * * * or any other person; and that the papers accompany- 
ing include all those relating to the said contract, as required by the statute in such 
•case made and provided.' 

"Sec. 3746. Every officer who makes any contract and fails or neglects to make 
return of the same according to the provisions of the two preceding sections, unless 
from unavoidable accident or causes not within his control, shall be deemed guilty of 
a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than 
five hundred and imprisoned not more than six months." 

The suggestion of the Paymaster General of the Navy contemplates the repeal in 
their entirety of sections 3745 and 3746, but it proposes to leave in force the first part 
of section 3744, which requires contracts to be reduced to writing and signed by the 
contracting parties and to repeal only the remainder of the section, beginning with 
the words "a copy of which shall be filed * * * in the Returns Office," etc. 
In other words, so much of the section as operates purely as a statute of fraud is to 
remain in force, while the part requiring the public record of the facts relative to 
•contracts is to be repealed. 

It will thus be seen that suggestion has in view the amendment of the law so as to 
permit of the abandonment of two practices which are not dependent necessarily one 
upon the other, although both are steps in a proceeding looking to the protection of 
the Government against frauds in connection with public contracts — first, the filing 
of all contracts, proposals, and advertisements in the Returns Office and, second, the 
attaching to such contracts of an oath of disinterestedness. 

In response to your letter, I have the honor to inform you that, after careful consid- 
eration, the department is unable to regard as expedient any change in the law which 
would permit the abandonment of either of the steps indicated, though it seems not 
unlikely that some of the evils complained of by the Paymaster General may be done 
away with by an amendment such as will hereinafter be referred to. Perhaps some 
of the reasons upon which the conclusion of the department is based will appear 
from a brief examination of other laws upon the same general subject; a recital of 
some of the circumstances which led to the enactment of the legislation in question; 
and a reference to other considerations, more general in their nature, and hence more 
applicable to the present time. 

In connection with the foregoing sections, consideration should be given to sections 
ol2-515 of the Revised Statutes relative to the Returns Office. Section 512 requires 
the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Returns Office. Sections 513-515 are as 
follows : 

"Sec. 513. The clerk of the Returns Office shall file all returns made to the office, 
so that the same may be of easy access, keeping all returns made by the same officer 
in the same place, and numbering them in the order in which they are made. 

"Sec 514. The clerk of the Returns Office shall provide and keep an index book, 
with the names of the contracting parties, and the numbers of each contract opposite 
to the names, and shall submit the index book and returns to any person desiring to 
inspect it. 

"Sec 515. The clerk of the Returns Office shall furnish copies of such returns to 
any person paying therefor, at the rate of five cents for every one hundred words, 
to which copies certificates shall be appended in every case by the clerk making the 
same, attesting their correctness, and that each copy so certified is a full and complete 
copy of the return." 

These sections furnish the key to the objects and purposes of the sections whose 
repeal is suggested, which were that the public should have the right to examine 
and to receive copies of all papers bearing upon public contracts made by departments 
hereinbefore named. 

The sections last quoted as well as those proposed to be repealed were originally 
contained in the act of Congress approved June 2, 1862, entitled: "An act to prevent 
and punish frauds on the part of officers intrusted with making of contracts for the 
Government. " (12 Stat., 411.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 445 

The act referred to appears to have been the result of the following circumstances: 
In the spring of 1861, soon after the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, there were 
numerous reports in the public press of frauds in the making of contracts for supplies 
of all kinds for the Army, and on July 8-10, 1861, the House of Representatives ap- 
pointed a committee to summon witnesses, take testimony, etc. The committee 
proceeded to different parts of the United States, examined a large number of wit- 
nesses, and in December, 1861, submitted their reports with a copy of the testimony 
taken. The reports and testimony (House reports of committees, 37th Cong., 2d sess., 
vol. 1-2), covering nearly 3,000 printed pages, show that there had been innumerable 
frauds in the purchase of supplies for the Army, embracing arms and accouterments, 
food, clothing, shoes, horses, and equipments, and even in the charter of Govern- 
ment transports, and the letting of contracts for the transportation of troops by rail — 
in short, that every variety of business transaction which the Government found it 
necessary to make in order to conduct the operations of the war was deeply tainted 
with fraud. The report also showed an utter lack of moral or legal responsibility, on 
the part of a number of the contracting officers, and a readiness on the part of the con- 
tractors to take advantage of this circumstance. 

In the meantime, and on July 23, 1861, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary had 
reported a bill "to prevent and punish fraud on the part of officers intrusted with the 
making of contracts for the Government," which was substantially in the form of the 
act of 1862, supra, subsequentlv remodeled into the sections of the Revised Statutes 
now proposed to be repealed. * (Cong. Globe, vol. 128, pp. 226, 276, 352, 369, 404; 
37th Cong., 2d sess.) The bill passed the Senate July 26, 1861 (id., p. 226); subse- 
quently passed by the House, with amendments (id., p. 352); and the House amend- 
ment? were concurred in by the Senate August 1, 1861 (id., 369); subsequently, on 
August 2, 1861, upon the receipt of a letter from Q. M. Gen. Meigs stating that it would 
be impracticable to carry out the terms of the bill, the Senate withdrew its concur- 
rence in the House amendments and the bill was laid upon the table (id., 403-406). 
This ended the consideration of the bill, so far as the extra session of Congress was 
concerned. 

Upon the convening of the Thirty-seventh Congress in its first regular session (and 
after the report of the House Committee to Investigate Frauds in Government Con- 
tracts, hereinabove referred to, had been presented) the Senate, on January 7, 1862, 
took the bill up from the table and recommitted it to the Committee on the judiciary. 
(Cong. Globe, vol. 129, p. 206.) On May 30, 1862, the bill was reported back, and the 
House amendments were concurred in (id., vol. 131, p. 2440). The bill was subse- 
quently signed by the Speaker of the House (p. 2496), and on June 2, 1862, received 
the approval of the President of the United States (id., p. 2506). 

From the foregoing parliamentary history it will be seen that the measure received the 
careful consideration of Congress and was not passed without considerable opposition. 
There were numerous debates upon the bill, chiefly in the Senate. From the various 
discussions the following extracts may be selected as probably giving the reasons 
which led to the adoption of the measure: 

From the remarks of Hon. Edgar Cowan, of Pennsylvania, in the Senate, August 1, 
1861: 

"I think the apprehensions of the Quartermaster General in regard to the operation 
of this bill are entirely unfounded. * * * The bill merely requires all contracts 
to be in writing. Apprehensions may have arisen, however, from this provision. It 
frequently happens that the contracting officer has bids and proposals made to him, 
that is. where there is no formal letting or bidding, and which he refuses to consider 
from an improper purpose. It is well known that such cases are occurring every day. 
Gentlemen are offering the quartermaster, 'I will furnish you a horse for $100,' and, 
instead of allowing them to do so, they go ahead and buy them for $110 or $115 from 
somebody else — some friend, perhaps — sharing the difference there between them- 
selves. Therefore the bill requires that where there have been proposals made to a 
contracting officer in writing — of course, it does not require him to return a parol 
bid — but when a proposition is made in writing, that he must return that along with 
the contract he has made, and he must also swear in his affidavit that all these bids 
and proposals have been honestly made and acted on. 

* * * * ■* *■ * 

"I think it is to the interest of the department that a bill of this kind should be 
passed in order to stop the mouths of the disappointed contractors who go about and 
tell all these terrible stories of fraud that we hear. If this bill should pass, and a 
man charges an officer with behaving improperly, the first question will be, 'Have 
you a copy of the contract; have you the bids ana! proposals made to him? ' If such a 
person has not that copy it stops his mouth and he is told, 'You had better not say 
anything about it until you get a copy.' The bill will really operate as a protection 



446 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

to the officers, if they are honest and deserve protection. If they are not honest, here 
are the means by which they may be caught in their delinquencies and punished: 
The contractor (officer) will return that he has bought a horse, or a ton of hay, for a 
larger price than need really be given for it. Then the man from whom he bought it 
can be brought forward to testify whether he did pay that sum or not, and we shall 
have it before the country so that everybody can see it." (Cong. Globe, vol. 128, 
p. 370.) 

Similar remarks were made by Hon. John Sherman, of Ohio, and Hon. Jacob Col- 
lamer, of Vermont (ibid). 

From the remarks of Hon. Lazarus W. Powell, of Kentucky, in the Senate, August 
2, 1861 (id., p. 404): 

"The truth is, Mr. President, all this bill requires is that when an officer of the 
Government makes contracts those contracts shall be put in writing; the sum to be 
paid for the article to be set forth, and the officer making those contracts is to put his 
affidavit in writing upon it that it sets forth the truth. If it should be found at any 
future time that he has not told the truth in that affidavit, he is subject to the pains 
and penalties of perjury. It does not require the contract to be reduced to writing 
at the moment the article is to be purchased, but it is to be done within a certain time, 
and it requires those contracts to be placed in a book to be kept by clerks provided for 
in the bill, and to be subject to the inspection of any citizen. The object of allowing 
any citizen to inspect it is to let the whole public see whether the public officers have 
given larger amounts for supplies or anything they have purchased than others have 
offered to sell them for. It requires the bids, if any are made in writing, to be spread 
to the bill and I can not see how it can possibly embarrass the Government. As I 
before said, I think it can only embarrass really one description of persons — speculators 
and public plunderers. 

* ■* * * * * * 

"We have statutes now inflicting the heaviest punishment for defrauding and 
swindling the Government. The object of this bill is to give us the means by which 
we can detect these pilferers. * * * It requires the articles furnished to be set 
forth specifically, the price paid to be set forth, and then the officer to take an oath 
that that is correct. It then requires a public record to be made of them which is 
to be kept open for the inspection of the public." 

From the remarks of Senator Powell, January 7, 1862: 

"Sir, I conceive that the bill is one of eminently practical importance; and I 
believe, had it been passed at last session and become a law, it would have prevented 
four-fifths of the enormous frauds that have been practiced on this Government since 
that time. It would prevent nine-tenths of your investigating committees that you 
raise here from day to day. If the bill had passed and the law been faithfully admin- 
istered, it would have furnished evidence to detect those who infracted the laws of 
the land and pilfered the Government. It also provided penalties against faithless 
officials. Why, sir, there was sent to me last night a report of an investigating com- 
mittee in the Lower House; I have very hurriedly looked over it, and have not had 
time to read it minutely, but really it seems to embody villainy, fraud, and theft 
enough to contaminate a nation. I do not believe, myself, that the bill will be or 
can be much improved. So far as the punishment of those who steal from the public 
treasury is concerned, there is a law now on the statute books, were it executed, that 
punishes such offenders as felons. This bill not only provides additional penalties, 
but it furnishes the means by which those who commit frauds in their contracts with 
the Government can be detected. It will give honest officials, Congress, and the 
country such a record of contracts and such facts as will enable them to detect and to 
punish dishonest officials and fraudulent contractors. I hope, then, that the bill will 
be taken up. * * * I know it is the wish of the whole Senate, and I believe of 
the whole country, to protect the public treasury from these infamous thieves and 
vultures who hang around it. This bill has been most elaborately prepared. I 
thought when it was reported, and I now think, the thanks of the country are due to 
the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania for the assiduous manner in which he 
labored to perfect it. The Judiciary Committee had it under consideration some four 
or five days. We unanimously reported it, and but for the letter of Gen. Meigs it 
would now have been the law of the land. 

"Mr. President, I am fully aware that nothing we can do, no law we can pass, can 
make honest men; and I am entirely confident that when we have discharged our duty 
in this respect, when we have made every law calculated to protect the public treasury, 
when we have exhausted our ingenuity in throwing every hedge and safeguard about 
it, that then there will be fraud, robbery, and theft. * * * But, sir, I hold it is 
to be our duty, and that as speedily as possible, to pass every law calculated to prevent 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 447 

those frauds and peculations, I regret to say, now so frequent and great, upon the 
Treasury, and to punish those who commit them. 

"The bill that I propose to call from the table was calculated more to enable us to 
detect those who commit peculations on the Treasury than anything else. To be 
sure, it punished certain officers, confined them in the penitentiary for perjury when 
they swore falsely in making the affidavits required in one section of the bill. * * * 
I feel very confident that, if this bill were passed, it would have a most salutary effect, 
and save annually millions of the people's money." (Id., 206.) 

On June 12, 1862, only 10 days after the passage of the above-mentioned act, a 
bill was introduced in the Senate for its repeal. (Id., vol. 131, p. 2674.) Subse- 
quently, the bill was amended so as to provide for the temporary suspension of the 
operation of the act until January 1, 1863 (Id., vol. 131, p. 3311); and in this shape 
it became a law July 17, 1862 (12 Stat., 600). 

It is believed that the same reasons which originally led to the enactment of the 
legislation under consideration, more than 40 years ago, are still of vital force. While 
it is doubtless true that the standard of integrity among public officials has become 
higher during that period, and while systems for filing, recording, and public exam- 
inations have been devised and perfected by some, if not all, of the departments, 
it is not clear that these facts furnish a sufficient reason for the repeal of the laws 
requiring the filing of contract papers in the Returns Office. 

With regard to permitting the public to examine papers pertaining to contracts, 
the Paymaster General says: 

"The keeping of the records and file of proposals, contracts, etc., has so improved 
since the passage of this act, that it has been the custom of this bureau for several 
years to furnish without cost, to any party applying for the same, either in writing 
or in person, complete copies of all contracts in which he might be interested, or 
detailed information in connection therewith. There is absolutely no reason, there- 
fore, for any person applying to the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior 
for this information when it can be obtained upon application to this bureau." 

In this connection it may be stated that this department has also adopted the 
policy of furnishing all practicable information relative to public contracts to parties 
applying therefor; yet the records of the Returns Office show that there are several 
hundred requests annually from private parties for certified copies of public con- 
tracts, or for permission to examine the same — to say nothing of the fact that the 
departments themselves frequently find it necessary to call upon the Returns Office 
for information relating to particular contracts. 

Moreover, the department is strongly of the opinion that the retaining of complete 
copies of all papers bearing upon the public contracts, and the granting of permission 
to private parties to examine the same, should not be dependent upon the volition 
of any officer or bureau, but that such filing and public examination should be required 
by law, under a penalty for noncompliance. This conclusion is based upon the follow- 
ing consideration, among others: 

(1) It seems highly desirable that, within some definite period after making a 
contract, all the papers pertaining thereto should be placed beyond the power of the 
officer making the same, and even of the bureau or office to which he belongs. In 
this way the danger of such officer manipulating the papers, by altering some and 
omitting others, would be greatly lessened. 

(2) In this connection it may be said that if the filing and public examination 
depended merely upon a department regulation, and not upon a penal act of Congress, 
it would never be a matter of certainty in any particular case that an unsuccessful 
bidder or a private citizen had been permitted to examine all the papers pertaining to 
a contract. It would be easy for the officer, through inadvertence or otherwise, to 
neglect to show the party some paper having an important bearing upon the matter. 
Under the Returns Office system, on the other hand, the officer is required to file all the 
papers in said office, and to make oath that all papers are attached to the return. By 
making such an oath falsely, he renders himself liable to the penalties for perjury 
prescribed by section 5392 of the Revised Statutes. In case of the repeal of the law, 
even if the department regulation were substituted by which the officer was required 
to file in his department all such papers, and to certify that he had attached all the 
papers together, there would be no penalty attached to the making of a false certificate 
of this kind; and officers, even when honest, might become careless. 

(3) A system,_ dependent merely upon departmental regulation, might be rigidly 
adhered to in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of one thousand; and yet the 
thousandth might be just the same case in which there was fraud. Indeed, if there 
was fraud in any particular case, the guilty officer would doubtless take care that all 
the papers were not placed within the reach of the public in that case, since by so doing 
he would lessen the chance of detection of his fraud, and would incur the risk of no 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 29 



448 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

additional penalty, except, possibly, a reprimand from the head of his department. 
While this consideration applies to all contracting officers, it has particular reference 
to those situated at points remote from 'Washington. 

(4) It is also desirable that, so far as practicable, a uniform system be followed for 
the departments in question; for, in a number of cases, the contractors for all such de- 
partments are the same, and if the systems of the departments are different, it will, 
perhaps, cause confusion in the minds of contractors and the public. 

(5) In addition to the foregoing there is another consideration, so fundamental in 
its nature, so simple and obvious, that it seems that it has only to be stated in order to be 
appreciated: What one officer sets up, his successor in office may sweep away. An 
officer in charge of a particular bureau might, with painstaking care, establish a well- 
nigh perfect system for his recording, riling, and public examination of all papers per- 
taining to contracts, and his successor in office might, upon one pretext or another, or 
without any pretext at all, abolish the entire system at one stroke, thus opening the 
door to innumerable frauds similar to those which permeated every branch of the 
public service at the beginning of the Civil War. 

All these reasons seem to point inevitably to the conclusion that the system of filing 
and public examination of contracts should not depend merely upon departmental 
regulation, but should be required by law. The Returns Office system may be said to 
be, in effect, an insurance against fraud and corruption in connection with public 
contracts; and it would seem that the adoption of a more complete record system and 
more modern business methods by an executive department no more obviates the ne- 
cessity for the law relative to the Returns Office than the adoption of modern sprinkler 
and fire-alarm systems obviates the necessity of fire insurance upon buildings so pro- 
tected. 

It is a well-known principle that the value of a protective system (whether consist- 
ing of a set of laws or of a body of police) designed to prevent any particular class of 
wrongs is not to be measured solely by the actual number of wrongs of such class com- 
mitted or attempted while the system in question is in operation, but there should 
also be taken into consideration the fact that a large number of persons are probably 
deterred from committing the wrong by the mere fact that there is such a protective 
system in force. Thus, it may be true that there have been comparatively few cases 
in which it has been necessary to bring the machinery of the Returns Office into opera- 
tion ; yet no one can say how many times the knowledge that all papers pertaining to 
public contracts are required to be filed in said office has prevented contracting offi- 
cers from acting fraudulently in connection with such contracts. 

Moreover, it is not only necessary that the officers making contracts on behalf of the 
Government should deal honestly in so doing, but it is still more necessary, if possible, 
that the public should know that such officers are dealing honestly; and to this end it 
should be placed beyond the power of any officer or bureau at any time to make a 
secret contract on behalf of the Government. The salient facts relating to contracts 
should be required by law to be made matters of record, and the public should know 
that such facts are of record, and that they have the right to examine the same at any 
time, upon payment of a reasonable fee. It is only in this way that the suspicions of 
persons prone to believe ill of the authorities, as well as the efforts of unscrupulous 
persons to cast discredit upon the Government and its officers, can be properly met. 
Indeed, this seems to be only a part of a general principle applicable to all the opera- 
tions of the Government; and while the nature of things does not always admit of its 
adoption in respect of other matters, it seems to be highly important that the prin- 
ciple should be followed, so far as practicable, in connection with public contracts. 

To view the case from the standpoint of the public, they should not be required to 
ask as a favor information which properly they might demand as a right. If the laws 
under consideration were repealed it would rest within the discretion of the head of 
an office or a department as to whether the public should be permitted to examine or 
copy any contracts; and hence the person who was denied access to a contract would 
have no legal redress. Under the law as it now stands, on the other hand, it is made 
the ministerial duty of the Secretary of the Interior to furnish copies of contract papers 
to all parties applying therefore and paying the fee; and in case of his refusal to furnish 
such copies in any case, doubtless mandamus would lie to compel him to do so. 

For the reasons above cited, and others which may suggest themselves, the depart- 
ment is unable to concur in the views of the Paymaster General of the Navy as to the 
advisability of the repeal of either that part of section 3744 of the Revised Statutes 
which requires contract papers to be filed in the Returns Office, or of section 3745, 
requiring an oath of disinterestedness to be made and attached to such papers; nor is 
it believed that section 3746, providing a penalty for failure to comply with the sec- 
tions above mentioned, can safely be repealed. 



EEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 449 

While it is eminently proper that every step found practicable should be taken 
looking to an economical expenditure of the public funds and the adoption of all suit- 
able measures to effect that purpose, it should be borne in mind that the few thousand 
dollars spent each year upon the Returns Office system bear but a small proportion to 
the many millions annually expended upon Government contracts, and doubtless 
this comparatively small expenditure saves to the Government vastly greater sums 
which might be lost through fraud and corruption in connection with public con- 
tracts if this safeguard were removed. Moreover, the necessity for preserving public 
officers from temptation, for maintaining a high moral standard in the public service, 
for compelling Government contractors to deal openly and honestly with the Gov- 
ernment, for retaining the confidence of the public at large in the operations of the 
Government and its officers — all these things seem of far higher importance than the 
saving of a few thousand dollars, and as hereinabove set forth the department does 
not believe that the money spent upon the Returns Office can be saved without grave 
danger of losing the benefits here described. 

Most of the foregoing considerations apply to both the filing of contracts, etc., and 
the making of oaths, considered as two steps in one proceeding for the protection of 
the Government. 

Referring particularly to the oath of disinterestedness, however, it may be added 
that, while it is doubtless true that a person who would defraud the Government 
would have no scruples about making a false affidavit, yet an officer guilty of fraud 
in connection with a contract who makes a false oath of disinterestedness, not only 
furnishes the evidence which may lead to his conviction for such fraud, but also 
ncurs an additional penalty for perjury. Moreover, the requiring of an oath in such 
cases is merely following out a general policy of acts of Congress requiring oaths in 
customs, internal revenue, land, and other matters. 

So far from regarding with favor any proposition to abolish the Returns Office sys- 
tem, this department is of the opinion that any change should be rather in the direc- 
tion of extending and increasing the efficiency of that system. In this connection 
it may be proper to state that the great number of frauds in connection with public 
contracts which have been brought to light within the past few years were not com- 
mitted in one of the three departments — War, Navy, and Interior — to which the 
Returns Office system applies, but the departments in which said system is in force 
have been comparatively free from frauds of this nature during a number of years. 
It is quite possible that some of the frauds alluded to might not have occurred if the 
laws requiring the filing of all papers pertaining to contracts and the making and 
attaching of an oath of disinterestedness had been applicable to the departments in 
which such frauds were committed. 

Another change which might, with some advantage, be made in the direction of 
increasing the efficiency of the Returns Office, would be to so amend the law as to 
provide that in the case of every contract required by law to be let upon public 
competition (see sec. 3709, R. S.), a clause in substantially the following language 
should be inserted in such contracts, for the information of contractors, bidders, and 
the public at large, as well as to put contracting officers upon notice: 

"A copy of this contract, with all advertisements, bids, proposals, specifications, 
etc., upon which the same is based, is required by law to be filed in the Returns 
Office of the Interior Department, Washington, District of Columbia; and certified 
copies thereof can be procured by any party upon payment of the fee prescribed by 
section five hundred and fifteen of the Revised Statutes." 

It might also be regarded as an improvement if the law were so amended as to 
require in the case of contracts let upon public competition, that wherever contract 
was awarded to other than the lowest responsible bidder, there be indorsed upon the 
papers filed in the Returns Office the reasons which led the contracting officer (or 
the officer or board upon whose recommendation he acted) to reject the proposal of 
the lowest bidder, and award the contract to another. It may be stated that this 
system has, for some years, been followed in this department, and in its operation it 
has been found most convenient and satisfactory. 

Among the reasons assigned by the Paymaster General of the Navy which render 
it advisable for the laws in question to be repealed is the cost of making oaths of 
disinterestedness to be attached to contracts. He states that these oaths cost 50 
cents each; and as there were 4,569 contracts made by his office during the past fiscal 
year, the cost of this item alone in his office for the year was $2,284.50; and for the 
Navy Department at large the cost would approximate $8,000. The records of the 
Returns Office show that during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, therewere filed 
7,775 Navy Department contracts; so that the cost of the oaths in question during 
that year at 50 cents each would be $3,887.50. 



450 REPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY, 

This department agrees with the view of the Paymaster General that the money 
spent upon these oaths of disinterestedness is an entirely unnecessary expense; and 
it would seem very desirable, therefore, that legislation be obtained providing that 
such oaths should be administered by certain designated officers in the service of the 
United States and prohibiting such officers from receiving any fee therefor. Such 
an enactment would greatly reduce the cost of operating the Returns Office system. 

If this suggestion meets with your approval, I will be glad to cooperate with you in 
bringing the matter to the attention of Congress. 

Very respectfully, Thos. Ryan, Acting Secretary. 



Exhibit F. 

(1-F.) 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, December 1, 1908. 
Sir: I am handing you herewith copy of a letter from the chairman of the committee 
on regulations of this department, dated November 4, together with a copy of the 
minutes of the meeting of said committee, dated November 3, 1908, embodying certain 
resolutions passed by said committee relative to the matter of filing contracts, as pro- 
vided by sections 3743 and 3744, United States Revised Statutes, special reference 
being had to the repeal of the existing law requiring the filing of copies of contracts 
and proposals in the Returns Office of this department. 

I heartily approve of the resolution, and submit the same herewith to your commit- 
te'e, which I understand is now considering this question. 
Very respectfully, 

James Rudolph Garfield, Secretary,, 
Mr. James A. Wetmore, 

Chairman Special Committee on Government Contracts, 
Supervising Architect's Office, Treasury Department. 

A memorandum prepared by Mr. Fox of this department is also inclosed. 



Department of the Interior, 
United States Reclamation Service, 

Office of the Director, 
Washington, D. C, November 4, 1908. 
The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: There are inclosed duplicate copies of the extract from the minutes of the 
meeting of November 3, 1908, of the departmental committee on regulations, referring 
particularly to the matter of filing contracts, as provided by sections 3743 and 3744, 
Revised Statutes. Your committee believes that the adoption of these recommenda- 
tions will eliminate unnecessary duplication and result in more expeditious handling 
of the work. This matter is being considered by the special committee on Govern- 
ment contracts appointed by the President, but as it affects this department not only 
as to a change of method and also the abolition of the Returns Office, it has appeared to 
your committee that the initiation of the proposed change would properly come from 
this department. If approved by you, it is respectfully recommended that one copy 
of these resolutions be sent to the special committee, thereby indicating that the 
Department of the Interior is heartily in favor of the reform. 
Respectfully, 

N. E. Webster, Jr., Chairman. 
Approved: November 30, 1908. 
Garfield, Secretary. 

[Memorandum for the private secretary.] 

The Returns Office of the Department of the Interior was established under the act 
of June 2, 1862 (12 Stats., 411), as amended by the act of July 17, 1862 (12 Stats., 600). 
These laws are now embodied in sections 512 to 515 and sections 3744 to 3747 of the 
Revised Statutes. Copies of these statutes are hereto attached, marked " Exhibit A." l 

Under the law a copy of every contract, together with the proposals and advertise- 
ment relating thereto, made by any officer of the War, Navy, and Interior Depart- 

i Exhibit aa of this volume. 



KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 451 

ments is required to be filed in the Returns Office within 30 days after the contract is 
made. 

By the Secretary's order of June 28, 1907, jurisdiction over the Returns Office and 
its force of four clerks was transferred to the Mails and Files Division and a complete 
new system of recording and filing the contracts was installed and put in operation 
January 1, 1908, with excellent results. 

In a memorandum for the private secretary, dated March 20, 1908, it was remarked: 

"The Returns Office as now existing under the statute passed June 2, 1862, seems 
to be out of place in the Interior Department. The suggestion is made that this mat- 
ter be considered with the view of relieving the department of this work * * *. " 

A careful reading of these laws will convince anyone that the Returns Office was a 
creature of the War of the Rebellion. Early in 1861, after the beginning of hostilities, 
the newspapers loudly proclaimed that contractors for war material were defrauding 
the Government. During July of the same year a committee was appointed by the 
House of Representatives to make an investigation. The report of the committee, 
submitted in December, 1861, stated that innumerable frauds had been perpetrated 
in connection with the letting of Government contracts. One of the results of this 
investigation was the enactment of the Returns Office law. 

It is significant that the law only aimed at the prevention of frauds with regard to 
contracts made by those branches of the Government having most to do with the con- 
duct of the war — the War, Navy, and Interior Departments. Evidently it was not 
contemplated to throw this special protection around all Government contracts, for 
the law was not framed to include the Treasury Department, the Post Office Depart- 
ment, the State Department, or the Department of Justice. Some of the excluded 
departments were making contracts, many of which in all probability were concerned 
with the war. It may reasonably be inferred, then, that suspicion of fraud did not 
attach to such contracts, or undoubtedly they, too, would have been placed under the 
same law. 

It is now over 40 years since the War of the Rebellion closed, and still the Returns 
Office continues to afford special protection to the contracts of the War, Navy, and 
Interior Departments. The question may well be asked: Why should this system be 
longer kept in operation? 

February 6, 1906, the Secretary of the Navy transmitted to this department a letter 
from the Paymaster General of the Navy in which that very question was asked, and 
the repeal of the law was suggested. The Paymaster General said: 

"The keeping of the records and files of proposals, contracts, etc., has so improved 
since the passage of this act that it has been the custom of this bureau for several years 
to furnish without cost to any party applying for the same, either in writing or in per- 
son, complete copies of all contracts in which he might be interested, or detailed infor- 
mation in connection therewith. There is absolutely no reason, therefore, for any per- 
son applying to the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior for this information 
when it can be obtained upon application to this bureau." 

On March 24, 1906, the Acting Secretary of the Interior responded at length, setting 
forth how the law came to be enacted, and giving reasons why the Interior Department 
was unable to concur in the views of the Paymaster General of the Navy as to the 
advisability of its repeal. Several propositions were advanced to demonstrate the good 
effect of the Returns Office system. In brief, these propositions were: 

1. The granting of permission to private parties to examine contracts does not depend 
upon the volition of any officer or bureau, but is required by law under penalty for 
noncompliance, thus affording protection thiough publicity. 

2. The contract papers are placed beyond the power of the contracting officers to 
manipulate or alter, and a heavy penalty is imposed for the omission of contract papers. 

3. Instead of being repealed the law should be extended to include contracts made 
by all the departments so as to make the system uniform throughout. 

In regard to the third proposition as stated above, it was said: 

"So far from regarding with favor any proposition to abolish the Returns Office 
system, this department is of the opinion that any change should be rather in the 
direction of extending and increasing the efficiency of that system. In this connec- 
tion,^ may be proper to state that the great number of frauds in connection with 
public contracts which have been brought to light within the past few years were not 
committed in one of the three departments (War, Navy, and Interior) to which the 
Returns Office system applies, but the departments in which said system is in force 
have been comparatively free from frauds of this nature during a number of years. It 
is quite possible that some of the frauds alluded to might not have occurred if the laws 
requiring the filing of all papers pertaining to contracts, and the making and attaching 
of an oath of disinterestedness, had been applicable to the department in which such 
frauds were committed." 



452 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The department agreed with the view of the Paymaster General of the Navy that the 
money paid for oaths of disinterestedness was an unnecessary expense, and that it 
would be desirable to obtain legislation providing that such oaths should be adminis- 
tered by certain designated officers in the service of the United States and prohibiting 
such officers from receiving any fee therefor. A copy of department letter of March 24, 
1906, above referred to, is hereto attached, marked "Exhibit B." J 

Taking up the principal argument made by this department in its letter of March 24, 
1906, to the Secretary of the Navy that the Returns Office law should be extended 
rather than repealed, it may be inquired what practical good would result therefrom. 
The Post Office Department has gotten along very well without the adjunct of a 
returns office, and has unearthed many frauds. If it were compelled to file in the 
Returns Office a copy of each of the thousands of contracts it makes every year, what a 
mass of papers would be accumulated. The Treasury Department makes many con- 
tracts annually; so does the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce 
and Labor, and not a few are made by the Department of Justice and the State Depart- 
ment. Then, there are the independent establishments like the Government Printing 
Office, the Interstate Commerce Commission, etc. These departments and establish- 
ments must be conceded to be as much interested in the prevention of fraud in Govern- 
ment contracts as are the War, Navy, and Interior Departments, and yet they seem 
to be doing fairly well without the protection of the Returns Office system. 

It would not be difficult to suppose a case where the system as now established 
might work great injury to the Government. The War Department, say, makes a 
contract for the construction of fortifications. The secret agent of a foreign power 
would be able to get from the Returns Office a copy of the contract with all the plans 
and specifications within 30 days after the execution of the contract papers if the con- 
tracting officer complied with the law. The same thing substantially could happen 
with regard to a contract for a battleship. An agent of another country could obtain 
complete information as to the details of the ship's construction before the keel had 
been laid. It would accordingly appear that in some cases the contracting officer 
would be performing a patriotic duty by failing to make return of contracts of such a 
confidential nature, although he would at the same time violate the law. Supportive 
of this proposition it may be said that on January 11, 1908, the Secretary of the Navy 
recommended that section 3744, Revised Statutes, be amended so as to permit the 
Navy Department to withhold confidential plans and specifications from the files of 
the Returns Office. The Senate Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred 
the bill (S. 5616) to accomplish such purpose, made favorable report thereon April 6,. 
1908. The bill, however, did not become law. (See S. Rept. No. 470, 60th Cong., 1st 
sess.; copy hereto attached, marked "Exhibit C." 2 ) 

One of the main objections to the Returns Office system is the expense attached to 
the oath of disinterestedness that is required to accompany every contract filed in the 
Returns Office. The fee therefor is usually 50 cents for each oath when executed 
before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths for general pur- 
poses. January 5, 1905, the President issued an Executive order prohibiting notarial 
charges by notaries who are Government employees. March 27, 1905, the Chief of 
the Patents and Miscellaneous Division of this department submitted to the Secretary 
of the Interior for his approval and reference to the President a memorandum suggest- 
ing amendment of the Executive order so as to make it inapplicable to oaths of disin- 
terestedness or other oaths required to be made by law, provided the work in connec- 
tion therewith be not performed during office hours. The then Assistant Attorney 
General for the Interior Department (Mr. F. L. Campbell), to whom the memorandum 
was referred, concurred in the view of the Chief of the Patents and Miscellaneous 
Division that the Executive order should be amended as stated, and it was so amended 
by the Executive order of March 31, 1905. (See Exhibit D hereto attached. 3 ) 

The Judge Advocate General of the Army, in a footnote on page 590 of the Compilation 
of Military Laws. of the United States (1901), states: 

" It is proper to remark that in the event of a suit being instituted against a principal 
or surety on a contract of the United States the copy of the contract filed in the Returns 
Office would have no evidential value, and a copy of the original filed in the Office of 
the Comptroller of the Treasury would have to be produced subject to the authenti- 
cation required by section 886 of the Revised Statutes. " 

The foregoing statement by the Judge Advocate General of the Army has no refer- 
ence to actions brought against contracting officers for perjury in making false oaths 
of disinterestedness or for failing or neglecting to make returns of contracts in violation 
of section 3746, Revised Statutes, as in such actions the records of the Returns Office 
would have evidential value. 

1 Exhibit bb of this volume. 2 Exhibit cc of this volume. 3 Exhibit dd of this volume. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 453 

The committee on regulations, Department of the Interior, at a meeting held 
November 3, 1908, recommended, that legislation be secured to provide: 

1. For the repeal of the requirement of filing copies of contracts and original pro- 
posals in the Returns Office. 

2. For the permanent retention of all proposals in the administrative office nego- 
tiating the contracts. 

3. For the provison of facilities for publicity of such proposals in the administrative 
offices and of the contracts in the auditor's offices. 

4. For the abolition of the Returns Office and the disposition of all records therein. 

5. That such proposed legislation be referred to and considered by the special 
committee on Government contracts (chairman, Mr. James A. Wetmore, Supervising 
Architect's Office, Treasury Department), appointed by the President June 18, 1907, 
in order that the legislation asked may be uniform for the entire Government service. 

(See Exhibit E. 1 ) 

The Returns Office law should be repealed and new legislation provided that will 
require the head of each executive department or independent establishment to 
retain in the files of their respective administrative offices copies of all contracts made 
by them, together with the original proposals, with the right to the public to have 
access to the contracts so filed. Provision should be made to permit the furnishing of 
copies for a specified fee, provided the interests of the Government be not jeopardized 
thereby. The present oath of disinterestedness should be replaced by a certificate 
for the signature of the contracting officer in substantially the same language as that 
contained in the oath. All the protective features of the oath of disinterestedness 
could be retained by providing the same penalty for the issuance of a false certificate 
as is now imposed for making a false oath. 

It is believed that it would be wise to concur in the recommendation of the commit- 
tee on regulations of this department, that the whole question of obtaining legislation 
for the repeal or modification of the Returns Office law be referred to the interdepart- 
mental committee on Government contracts, of which Mr. James A. Wetmore is 
chairman, to the end that the points and suggestions made herein may receive due 
consideration. 

In formulating the draft of legislation to accomplish the end sought, it is regarded 
as vitally important that there be incorporated therein such safeguards as — 

1. The substitution of a certificate of the contracting officer for the present oath of 
disinterestedness required by section 3745, Revised Statutes, with provision for the 
imposition of sentence of fine or imprisonment for the issuance of a false certificate. 

2. Penalty for failure or neglect of the contracting officer to make return of all con- 
tract papers to the administrative office, similar to that now provided in section 3746, 
Revised Statutes. 

Edwd. B. Fox. 



Exhibit aa. 
Copies of sections of Revised Statutes. 

Exhibit bb. 
Same as Exhibit E of report of special committee on contracts. 1 

(1-F-l.) 

[S. 5616, Sixtieth Congress, first session.] 
AN ACT To amend section thirty-seven hundred and forty-four of the Revised Statutes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That section thirty-seven hundred and forty-four of the Revised 
Statutes of the United States be, and the same is hereby, amended by the addition 
thereto of the following proviso: 

" Provided, That the Secretary of the Navy may withhold from papers transmitted 
to the Returns Office any plans, specifications, or other matter of a confidential nature, 
the publication of which would, in his opinion, be prejudicial to the public interests." 

Passed the Senate April 15, 1908. 

Attest: Charles G. Bennett, 

Secretary. 

Exhibit ee of this volume. 



454 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

(l-F-2.) 

[Extract from the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1907.] 
CONFIDENTIAL PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. 

These statutes establishing the Returns Office (sees. 512 to 515 and sees. 3744, 3745, 
R. S.) provide that papers on file there may be examined by "any person" desiring 
to do so, and that copies thereof shall be furnished upon payment of certain fees. It 
is not believed that Congress intended by these statutes to require that data of a con- 
fidential nature relating to any of the operations of the Government should thus be 
placed at public disposal. While it is not altogether clear that the plans and specifi- 
cations accompanying the contracts for the construction of naval vessels are within 
the meaning of these statutes, it is suggested that all doubt on the subject should be 
removed by a distinct provision of law. This provision might appropriately be made 
in terms analogous to section 1076 of the Revised Statutes, which in conferring upon 
the Court of Claims power to call upon any of the departments for information or 
papers, couples such authority with the proviso that "the head of any department may 
refuse and omit to comply with any call for information or papers when, in his opinion, 
such compliance would be injurious to the public interest." 



(l-F-3.) 

Exhibit cc. 

[Senate Report No. 470, Sixtieth Congress, first session.] 

AMENDING SECTION 3744 OF REVISED STATUTES SO AS TO PERMIT SECRETARY OF 
NAVY TO WITHHOLD CONFIDENTIAL PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, ETC. 

The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 5616) to amend 
section 3744 of the Revised Statutes, having considered the same, report thereon with 
a recommendation that it pass. 

The bill has the approval of the Navy Department, as will appear by the following 
communication : 

"Navy Department, 
" Washington, January 11, 1908. 

"Sir: I have the honor to invite attention to the remarks appearing on page 15 of 
my annual report for 1907, regarding the requirement of existing laws (sees. 512 to 515, 
and sees. 3744 and 3745 of the Revised Statutes) that certified copies of all contracts 
made by the Secretary of the Navy be filed in the Returns Office of the Department of 
the Interior, 'together with all bids, offers, and proposals to him made by persons to 
obtain the same, and with a copy of any advertisement he may have published in- 
viting bids, offers, or proposals for the same.' 

"Inasmuch as under the above provisions copies of contracts and papers when so 
filed in the Returns Office are open to inspection by 'any person' desiring to examine 
them, it is suggested that section 3744 of the Revised Statutes be so amended as to 
except from its operation plans, specifications, and other data of a confidential nature 
relating to contracts for the construction of naval vessels. While it is not altogether 
clear that such papers are within the meaning of these statutes as they now read, the 
passage of an amendment explicitly excepting them is recommended, in order that 
all doubt on the subject may be removed. 

"For the convenience of the committee, if the above recommendation should meet 
with approval, I inclose the draft of a bill 'to amend section 3734 of the Revised 
Statutes.' 

"Very respectfully, "V. H. Metcalf, 

"Secretary. 

"Hon. Eugene Hale, 

" Chairman Committee on Naval Affairs, United States Senate." 



(l-F-4.) 
Exhibit dd. 



[Memorandum for the Secretary in the matter of compensation of notaries public in and for the District of 
Columbia employed in the departments.] 

The provisions of law relative to the appointment, qualification, etc., of notaries 
public, are found in the following sections of the Code of the District of Columbia, 
approved March 3, 1901: 



i 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 455 

"'Sec. 558. Notaries. — The President shall also have power to appoint such number 
of notaries public, residents of said District, as, in his discretion, the business of the 
District may require. 

"Sec 559. Tenure of office. — Said commissioners of deeds and notaries public shall 
hold their offices for the period of five years, removable at discretion. 

"Sec. 560. Notaries in States. — Notaries public of the several States, Territories, 
and the District of Columbia are authorized to take depositions and do all other acts 
in relation to taking testimony to be used in the courts of the District of Columbia, 
take acknowledgments and affidavits in the same manner and with the same effect 
as United States commissioners may now lawfully take or do. 

"Sec. 561. Oath and bond. — Each notary public, before entering upon the duties 
of his office, shall take the oath prescribed for civil officers in the District of Columbia, 
and shall give bond to the United States in the sum of two thousand dollars, with 
security to be approved by the Supreme Court or a justice thereof, for the faithful 
discharge of the duties of his office. 

"Sec 562. Seal. — Each notary public shall provide a notarial seal, with which he 
shall authenticate all his official acts. 

"Sec 571. Fees. — The fees of notaries public shall be — 
"For each certificate and seal, fifty cents. 

"Taking depositions or other writings, for each one hundred words, ten cents. 
"Administering an oath, fifteen cents." 
******* 

Section 3745, Revised Statutes, requiring officers executing public contracts to make 
oaths of disinterestedness, is as follows: 

"It shall be the further duty of the officer, before making his return, according to 
the preceding section, to affix to the same his affidavit in the following form, sworn to 
before some magistrate having authority to administer oaths: 'I do solemnly swear 
(or affirm) that the copy of contract hereto annexed is au exact copy of a contract 

made by me personally with ; that I made the same fairly without any benefit 

or advantage to myself, or allowing any such benefit or advantage corruptly to the 

said ; or any other person, and that the papers accompanying include all those 

relating to the said contract, as required by the statute in such cases made and 
provided.'" 

The Executive order of January 5, 1905, prohibiting notarial charges by notaries 
public who are Government employees, reads as follows: 

"It is hereby ordered that hereafter no officer, clerk, or employee in the executive 
service of the Government, who is also a notary public, shall charge or receive any 
compensation whatever for performing any notarial act for an officer, clerk, or employee 
of the Government in his official capacity, or in any matter in which the Government 
is interested, or for any person when, in the case of such person, the act is performed 
during the hours of such notary's service to the Government. Disobedience of this 
order shall be ground for immediate dismissal from the service." 

The effect of this order is to prohibit notaries from receiving fees for services rendered 
which the law authorizes them to exact; and as there is no departmental regulation 
in the Interior Department requiring clerks who are notaries to render service in such 
official capacity without payment of the fees prescribed by law, it would seem that, 
in so far as such service is concerned, where no fee is paid, it is the rendition of volun- 
tary service, which is inhibited by the deficiency appropriation act of March 3, 1905. 
A notary in qualifying under his appointment incurs some expense, as for seal 
stamps, etc., approximately $10. Where bond is furnished by a surety _ company 
(many notaries preferring not to place themselves under the obligation which would 
be involved in providing personal sureties) the cost is from $2.50 to $5 per $1,000 per 
annum during the term of service, or an average of $25 for the term. Where notaries 
are appointed for service in the department, these expenses can not be defrayed out 
of the contingent fund and must therefore be a personal expense to the notary. 

If the notaries on duty in the, Interior Department should surrender their com- 
missions, or fail to renew them at the expiration of the term thereof, it would be nec- 
essary, in order to comply with the law in regard to the execution of oaths of disinter- 
estedness connected with public contracts, to employ an outside notary and pay him 
the statutory fee. In the Secretary's office, it has been the custom in executing 
such oaths not to charge the fee of 50 cents provided by statute, but only the sum of 
25 cents. 

It is suggested that any apparent injustice that is done departmental notaries may be 
corrected by the addition of the following clause to the above Executive order, to wit: 

"This order shall not apply to oaths of disinterestedness, or other oaths required to 
be made by law, provided that the work in connection therewith is not performed 
during office hours." 



456 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Department op the Interior, 
Oppice op the Assistant Attorney General, 

Washington, March SO, 1905. 
The Secretary of the Interior. 

Sir: I have examined with some care the memorandum prepared for you in the 
P. and M. Division, March 27th instant, with relation to compensation of notaries public 
in and for the District of Columbia, employed in the department. In said memo- 
randum the Executive order of January 5, 1905, is set out and its effect briefly dis- 
cussed. In said memorandum it is stated that — 

"The effect of this order is to prohibit notaries from receiving fees for services 
rendered which the law authorizes them to exact; and as there is no departmental 
regulation in the Interior Department requiring clerks who are notaries to render 
service in such official capacity without payment of the fees prescribed by law, it 
would seem that, in so far as such service is concerned, where no fee is paid, it is the 
rendition of voluntary service, which is inhibited by the deficiency appropriation act 
of March 3, 1905." 

I have examined the appropriation act of March 3, 1905, referred to in the above 
quote, and am not inclined to agree with the writer of the memorandum that the rendi- 
tion of such service as is prohibited by Executive order of January 5, 1905, is within 
the inhibition. The inhibition, if any, must be found in a single sentence quoted 
from the amendment to section 3679, Revised Statutes, found near the end of the act 
of March 3, 1905, supra. Said sentence reads as follows: 

"Nor shall any department or officer of the Government accept voluntary service 
for the Government or employ personal service in excess of that authorized by law, 
except in cases of sudden emergency involving the loss of human life or the destruc- 
tion of property." 

As I view this language of the statute, considered in connection with its context 
and with laws in pari materia, such as the act of May 1, 1884 (23 Stat., 17), I think 
Congress intended to prevent the employment of services official, clerical, or manual, 
unless such service is authorized by law, and did not have in mind, nor did it intend 
to include, notaries public and official acts performed by them under their commis- 
sions. Nor am I able to see great force in the suggestion in that part of the memoran- 
dum quoted supra, with reference to the absence of departmental regulation in the 
Interior Department with reference to clerks who are notaries. The Executive order 
is tantamount to a similar order or regulation issued by each of the heads of the several 
departments, and so far as the Interior Department is concerned, it has the same effect 
and operation as if it had been issued by the Secretary instead of the President. 

I see no objection to amending the order of January 5, 1905, as suggested in the 
memorandum, by the addition of the following words: 

"This order shall not apply to oaths of disinterestedness, or other oaths required to 
be made by law, provided that the work in connection therewith is not performed 
during office hours." 

Very respectfully, Frank L. Campbell, 

Assistant Attorney General. 

PROHIBITING NOTARIAL CHARGES BY NOTARIES PUBLIC WHO ARE 
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES. 

Department op the Interior, 

Washington, D. C, January 5, 1905. 
Order. 
By direction of the President. 

It is hereby ordered that hereafter no officer, clerk, or employee in the executive 
service of the Government, who is also a notary public, shall charge or receive any com- 
pensation whatever for performing any notarial act for any officer, clerk, or employee 
of the Government in his official capacity, or in any matter in which the Government 
is interested, or for any person when, in the case of such person, the act is performed 
during the hours of such notary's service to the Government. Disobedience of this 
order shall be ground for immediate dismissal from the service. 

E. A. Hitchcock, Secretary. 

On March 31, 1905, the President directed the amendment of the above by adding 
at the end thereof the following paragraph : 

This order shall not apply to oaths of disinterestedness, or other oaths required to 
be made by law, provided that the work in connection therewith is not performed 
during office hours. 

E. A. Hitchcock, Secretary. 

April 7, 1905. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 457 

(l-F-5.) 
Exhibit ee. 

[Extract of minutes of meeting of Nov. 3, 1908.] 

Department of the Interior, Committee on Regulations. 

Section 3743, R. S. (as amended by act of July 31, 1894, 28 Stat., 210) required: 
"All contracts to be made by virtue of any law, and requiring the advance of money, 
or in any manner connected with the settlement of public accounts, shall be deposited 
promptly in the offices of the Auditors of the Treasury, according to the nature of the 
contracts: Provided, That this section shall not apply to the existing laws in regard 
to the contingent fund of Congress." 

Section 3744, R. S. requires: "It shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, of the 
Secretary of the Navy, and of the Secretary of the Interior to cause and require every 
contract made by them severally on behalf of the Government, or by their officers 
under them appointed to make such contracts, to be reduced in writing and signed by 
the contracting parties, with their names at the end thereof, a copy of which shall be 
filed by the officer making and signing the contract in the Returns Office of the Depart- 
ment of the Interior as soon after the contract is made as possible and within 30 days, 
together with all bids, offers, and proposals to him made by persons to obtain the same, 
and with a copy of any advertisement he may have published inviting bids, offers, 
or proposals for the same. All the copies and papers in relation to each contract shall 
be attached together by a ribbon and seal and marked by numbers in regular order, 
according to the number of papers composing the whole return." 

The purpose of both sections is to secure a written record of the agreements to which 
the Government is a party and to provide for then permanent filing and safe-keeping. 
In addition, the former section serves to make the original contracts available in the 
audit of accounts connected therewith; while the latter section serves to make a copy 
thereof and the advertisement issued and the proposals received and considered in 
connection with the award available for purposes of publicity to all persons interested. 

In practice the latter purpose is accomplished by section 3744 only as to the general 
public, for whenever required as evidence in court or elsewhere the original in an 
auditor's office is generally used instead of the copy in the Returns Office of this depart- 
ment. 

Therefore your committee on regulations recommend that legislation be secured to 
provide : 

1 (1-F-5-A). For the repeal of the requirement of filing copies of contracts and origi- 
nal proposals in the Returns Office. 

2 (1-F-5-B). For the permanent retention of all proposals in the administrative 
office negotiating the contracts. 

3 (1-F-5-C). For the provision of facilities for publicity of such proposals in the 
administrative offices and of the contracts in the auditor's offices. 

4 (1-F-5-D) . For the abolition of the Returns Office and the disposition of all records 
therein, and the committee further recommend that such proposed legislation be 
referred to and considered by the special committee on Government contracts (chair- 
man, Mr. James A. Wetmore, Supervising Architect's Office, Treasury Department), 
appointed by the President June 18, 1907, in order that the legislation asked may be 
uniform for the entire Government service. 



War Department, Washington, January 20, 1912. 
Dear Mr. President: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report prepared by 
the War Department board on business methods on the recommendations of your 
Commission on Economy and Efficiency concerning the abolishment of the Returns 
Office of the Interior Department, etc. 
I concur in the recommendations of the War Department board. 
Respectfully, 

H. L. Stimson, 

Secretary of War. 
To the President, 

White House. 



458 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

[Report No. 16.] 

War Department, Washington, January 13, 1912. 
To the honorable the Secretary op War. 

Sir : The report on the Returns Office of the Interior Department submitted to the 
President by the Commission on Economy and Efficiency, November 17, 1911, having 
been referred to the War Department board on business methods for its consideration 
and report, the board has the honor to state that in its report to you of November 18, 
1911, upon the draft of a bill for publicity in making Government contracts, sub- 
mitted by the Department of the Interior, it expressed the conclusion "that all real 
needs in the matter can be fully met by legislation that will repeal the requirements 
of existing law relative to the maintenance of a Returns Office in the Interior Depart- 
ment and the filing of copies of contracts therein, and by further legislation that 
will make the copies of contracts that are filed in the offices of the various auditors 
as accessible to the public as are copies of contracts now filed in the Returns Office 
of the Interior Department." 

The recommendations of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency are summarized 
in four paragraphs. The first two paragraphs cover the recommendations of this board 
referred to above. The third paragraph proposes that the requirement that contracts 
for the War, Navy, and Interior Departments be in writing be modified so as to apply 
only to a contract involving $1,000 or more, and, as so modified, be extended to all 
executive departments and independent establishments, with a proviso that oral or 
informal contracts, regardless of amount involved, may be made in case of extraor- 
dinary emergency, involving loss of life or destruction of Government property. 
Paragraph 4 proposes the substitution of a certificate in lieu of the affidavit now 
required by statute to be attached to contracts. This board believes that the addi- 
tional recommendations of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency are in the 
interest of good administration and would effect economy in the saving of the notarial 
fees in those cases where the oath can not now under the law be administered without 
expense by a Government employee competent for the purpose. Whether the pro- 
posed draft of a bill as found on pages 13 to 17 is best suited to put into effect the 
recommendations of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency is a question upon 
which the board does not feel competent to express an opinion, believing it to be a 
matter calling for expert legal advice. 
Very respectfully, 

F. C. Ainsworth, 
Major General, United States Army, President, The Adjutant General. 

E. A. Garlington, 
Brigadier General, United States Army, Member, Inspector General. 

W. W. WOTHERSPOON, 

Brigadier General, United States Army, Member. 
John C. Scopield, 
Assistant and Chief Cleric, War Department, Member. 



Department op the Interior, 

Washington, February 17, 1912. 

The President: I return herewith the report of the Commission on Economy and 
Efficiency regarding the Returns Office of the Department of the Interior, and, in 
response to your request for my judgment thereon, I am in full sympathy with the 
recommendations as summarized by the commission for the abolishment of the 
Returns Office in this department, for the reasons as outlined in their report at length. 

While the estimate made by the commission as to the present money cost of the 
maintenance of the Returns Office may be somewhat excessive, nevertheless, for the 
purpose of economy and efficiency, as applied not only to the money cost of the office 
but to the proper administration of this part of the public service, I believe the recom- 
mendations generally are well founded. 

I desire, however, to call attention to the draft of bill accompanying the report, 
particularly to the proposed amendment of section 3745, Revised Statutes, which, in 
its present form, would seem to include contracts made on behalf of the Government 
covering both receipts and expenditures of moneys. Under the present rulings, 
copies of the contracts entered into between the Government and water-right applicants 
under the reclamation act are required to be filed in the Returns Office of this depart- 
ment. I understand, however, that grazing permits (in effect, contracts of a similar 
nature), issued by the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, are not filed 



REPOETS OP THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 459 

in the Returns Office, only for the reason that the basic law establishing the Returns 
Office does not include the Department of Agriculture. While, theoretically, the 
various auditors of the Treasury Department should have the contracts which involve 
Government receipts as well as Government expenditures in order to make a proper 
audit of such accounts, I am inclined to believe that under the present administra- 
tion of the laws relating to such Government receipts auditors would not use these 
contracts in the examination of receiving officers' accounts. They would, therefore, 
merely be filed with the auditors for the purpose of publicity. Necessarily, if copies 
of such contracts, if not the originals, are required to be on file in the administrative 
offices, and the question arises as to whether or not, under the circumstances cited, 
it would be more practical and economical to provide for the publicity of such con- 
tracts in the respective offices where they are required to be filed for administrative 
purposes. 

With the idea of centralization in mind, I am inclined to think that the proposed 
amendment of section 3743, Revised Statutes, should provide for the filing of the 
contracts with the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Comptroller of the Treasury, or, 
at least, under the control of some one officer, rather than the various auditors of the 
Treasury Department, and the provision for the furnishing of certified copies of the 
contracts changed accordingly. The proposed amendment, as it stands, would 
require the filing of Government contracts in as many different offices as there are 
auditors, and such an arrangement would make it rather difficult for the general 
public to readily find the repository of a particular contract — not taking into con- 
sideration the question of economy of time, equipment, etc., that may be obtained 
by such centralization. Even if it were necessary to have the contracts distributed 
among the offices of the various auditors by reason of their present organization and 
location, it is not believed the suggested change in the proposed amendment would 
prohibit such a course, and if it were desired at some future time to centralize the 
work of the auditors, further amendment of the law would not then be required. 

If the commission has not considered these questions, I would suggest that they 
be submitted for due consideration. 

Very respectfully, Samuel Adams, 

Acting Secretary. 

Department of the Navy, 

Washington, January 9, 1912. 
My Dear Mr. President: Pursuant to your letter of the 27th ultimo, I return 
herewith the report of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency for the "Returns 
Office of the Department of the Interior." 
The report is exhaustive and the recommendations are clear and logical. 
There are four recommendations, as follows: 

(1) That, the Returns Office be abolished. 

This should be approved. This office is practically useless, and its discontinuance 
would, therefore, be an economy without any decrease in efficiency. 

(2) That the originals of all public contracts (except those which should be held a» 
confidential) now filed in the offices of the various auditors of the Treasury be made 
accessible to public inspection. 

This should be approved. In this connection, it is recommended, however, that 
this report be referred to the various auditors, in order to determine whether it will 
involve increased expenditures in their offices. In case an increase in force or expend- 
iture would be necessary in the auditors' offices, the recommendation of the special 
committee, of which Capt. Gibbons was chairman, that the contracts in the adminis- 
trative offices be made accessible to public inspection, might be considered, as this 
recommendation would be acceptable to the Navy Department. The proceedings and 
recommendations of this special committee are included in the report of the commis- 
sion under consideration. 

(3) That written contracts be not required for agreements amounting to less than 
$1,000, or in cases of extraordinary emergency. 

This should be approved. It will result in a saving in so-called red tape, and 
stationery, affidavits, and delays incident thereto, without being prejudicial to the 
Government's interests. 

(4) That certificates to the same effect be substituted for affidavits on written con- 
tracts; that a penalty be provided for a false certificate, and that the certificates be 
uniform for all public contracts. 

This should be approved. Attention is invited, however, to the fact that clerks of 
the Government departments, who are employed out of office hours as notaries, receive 
the same compensation for this service as do other notaries. These fees, though not 



460 REPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

pay proper, result in an increase in the annual income of nine such clerks in this de- 
partment of approximately $200 each. The clerks who would be affected by this 
Change are among the most efficient in this department, viz: E. F. Tolson, F S Parks 
\J . D. Johnston, A. M. Peyton, K. Holmes, R. H. Barry, E. M. Barr, S. T. Baldwin, 
±v. 1. Bartlett. 

Faithfully, yours, G. von L. Meyer. 

The President. 



APPENDIX No. 6 



TRAVEL EXPENDITURES 



461 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Recommendations 463 

Introduction 464 

Analysis of expenditures reported 466 

Mileage allowances 468 

Actual traveling expenses 471 

Grant of authority 471 

Routes and methods of travel 472 

Mileage and scrip books 472 

Definition of travel expenses 474 

Subsistence 474 

Items included under 476 

Baths 476 

Laundry 476 

Tips 476 

Verification 478 

EXHIBITS. 

1 E. Compilation of acts of Congress relating to mileage allowances and per 

diem allowances in lieu of subsistence 480 

2 E. Decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury relating to travel expendi- 

tures 488 

3 E. Draft of regulations in relation to travel by Government employees 499* 

462 



TRAVEL EXPENDITURES. 



December 20, 1911. 

The President. The Commission on Economy and Efficiency has 
the honor to submit the following report with recommendations in 
reference to the travel expenditures of officers and employees of the 
Government. 

The commission has made a compilation of the laws relating to 
mileage allowance, and per diem allowance in lieu of subsistence, 
which is appended to this report as Exhibit 1 E; also a compilation 
of the more important decisions of the Comptroller of the Treasury, 
which is set forth as Exhibit 2 E; and a draft of the proposed uniform 
regulations on particular subjects having to do with travel expendi- 
tures common to all departments, which is Exhibit 3 E. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The commission recommends in this report the following changes 
in the law: 

1. The passage of a law similar to the act of June 16, 1874 (18 
Stat., 72), to provide that only actual traveling expenses shall be 
allowed to any person holding employment or appointment in or 
under any executive department or other Government establish- 
ment and repealing all laws allowing mileage and transportation to 
such persons in excess of the amount actually paid. 

2. The passage of a law making it the duty of the President to pre- 
scribe a per diem allowance for each officer or employee, or each class 
of officers or employees, in or under an executive department or 
other Government establishment (including officers and employees of 
the courts of the United States, excepting judges), when engaged in 
travel on official business, and to vary any per diem from time to 
time; and that the per diem when so prescribed shall be in lieu of all 
traveling expenses except the cost of transportation and sleeping- 
car and parlor-car fares. 

3. The passage of a law providing that every account for reim- 
bursement of traveling expenses shall be certified as to its correct- 
ness by the person by whom the travel is performed, and that no 
verification by affidavit shall be required and that all laws requiring 
such verification be repealed. 

In addition to the foregoing recommendations for legislation the 
commission submits the following recommendations, which do not 
require a change of law, and which, in its opinion, should be put into 
effect until the necessary legislation can be had: 

1. The adoption by the executive departments and other Govern- 
ment establishments of regulations which shall be uniform so far as 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 30 463 



464 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the needs of the respective services permit and, in order to secure 
uniformity, that the President request each of such departments and 
establishments to adopt the paragraphs set forth in Exhibit 3 E, as its 
regulations on the subject covered thereby. 

One of the paragraphs in Exhibit 3 E provides for the certification 
of accounts for travel expenditures, instead of verification by affida- 
vit in those cases in which the affidavit is required by the Treasury 
accounting officers and not by law. 

2. In order that the officers and employees of the Government 
may have for use the form of mileage book most nearly adapted to 
the needs of the Government, that the President direct that an 
effort be made to obtain from the various railroad companies the 
issue of an interchangeable mileage book at a fixed rate per mile for 
the official use of any Government officer or employee, and that 
such book be accepted on all railroads in the United States, or that 
books at different rates be issued, each to be accepted on all railroads 
within a certain territory. 

In connection with the effort to arrange for uniform mileage books, 
consideration should be given to the desirability of making available 
for all Government employees the special rates for one or more per- 
sons now granted to certain departments. 

3. That the President direct that an inquiry be made, through the 
general supply committee or other proper agency, as to the advisa- 
bility of securing such special discounts or special rates as may be 
offered by hotels for the entertainment of officers and employees of 
the Government traveling on official business. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In connection with the reclassification of the estimates for appro- 
priations for the year 1911, undertaken as a part of your inquiry into 
economy and efficiency and completed in February, 1911, it was 
reported that the Government was spending over $12,000,000 per 
annum for purposes of travel, including transportation of persons 
and subsistence while in travel status. On March 8 you instructed 
each head of department and independent establishment "to have 
the travel vouchers for your department for the fiscal year 1910 
analyzed," this instruction being qualified with the statement that 
"in case there is any question to be raised" such question was to be 
taken up with those in charge of the inquiry at the Executive Office. 
Question was raised concerning the cost of making such an analysis, 
and for the purpose of ascertaining what this cost would be before 
proceeding, a number of tests were made in each department, as a 
result of which a supplementary letter was issued to the head of each 
department as follows : 

March 22, 1911. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: On the 8th instant I asked for an analysis of traveling 
expenses for the year 1910. Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Chance advise me that the depart- 
ments question the practicability of making such analysis, partly because of lack of 
information on the traveling vouchers and partly because of the amount of time 
required to make the analysis under existing conditions. The estimates of time 
required submitted by all the departments (except the Post Office Department) indi- 
cate that it would keep a force of 100 men at work from 10 to 11 months, at a total cost 
approximately of $120,000. 

While I would be willing, if necessary, to pay $120,000 for information necessary to 
deal intelligently with $12,000,000 of travel expenditures, the delay and the high cost 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 465 

indicate clearly to me that our methods of recording these transactions on the original 
expenditure documents might well be changed so that analyses can be submitted 
without such expense in time and money. I will take this subject up later on. 

In the meantime, I understand that the department committees recommend that 
instead of taking the year 1910, we begin by an analysis of current travel vouchers. 
This is satisfactory to me, and I ask that, beginning April 1, and continuing until 
further advised, all travel vouchers received in your department be analyzed on the 
form inclosed and the result of each month's analysis be sent to the White House. 
Any question pertaining to details can be taken up with the Commission on Economy 
and Efficiency. 

Sincerely, yours, Wm. H. Taft. 

Subsequently two of the departments were relieved, and on May 19 
a letter was sent to the heads of the other departments in which it was 
stated "from the character of results received from those which have 
made return it would seem that there will be sufficient data furnished 
to enable the Commission on Economy and Efficiency to understand 
what the problem is and to make recommendations." 

The travel vouchers subjected to analysis were for the month of 
April of the current year only and were those of only seven of the 
executive departments. None of the other establishments reported 
their analysis to the commission. The departments whose vouchers 
have been analyzed are the State, War, Navy, Post Office, Interior, 
Commerce and Labor, and Agriculture. A considerable amount of 
the travel expenditures reported was unclassified, the amount so 
unclassified being about 13 per cent of the total expenditures reported, 
the major part of these being for the departments of War and Navy. 
While the data reported to the commission, therefore, permit of detail 
consideration of the character of the problem they do not warrant a 
conclusion as to the volume of each class of expenditures for transpor- 
tation and for subsistence. 

From the facts reported by departments one of the first conclusions 
reached was that the verification by oath of travel vouchers (or 
accounts of officers and employees of the Government, which were 
submitted for reimbursement as required by the Comptroller of the 
Treasury) was costing the Government, in the form of notarial and 
other fees incident to such verification, in the neighborhood of 
$60,000 annually; that this cash expenditure was in addition to 
a much greater cost incurred in time and annoyance on the part 
of those who were required to prepare and present the claims for 
verification to persons authorized by law to administer an oath, all 
of which, in the opinion of most of the persons not connected with the 
Department of the Treasury, was unnecessary. The commission, 
therefore, made to you on June 27 an interim report containing the 
following recommendations : 

1. That the Secretary of the Treasury be requested to have promulgated a Treasury 
Department circular to the effect that, except in cases in which an affidavit is required 
by law, the traveling expense account of a civilian officer, employee, or agent of the 
Government shall be verified by certificate only. 

2. That the head of each of the executive departments be requested to designate 
a representative who shall be a member of a joint committee to cooperate with the com- 
mission in the preparation of a report to the President, with recommendations relative 
to travel expenses and what changes should be made in the laws now requiring 
travel expense accounts to be verified by affidavit; and also to formulate rules for 
adoption by each of the several branches of the service to govern employees in the 
preparation of travel accounts and the auditors in the audit thereof. 



466 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY.. 

This report did not take into consideration any question other than 
that pertaining to the subject of the jurat or affidavit required by the 
Comptroller of the Treasury, it being the purpose of the commission 
to make this recommendation as early as practicable in order that 
action might be taken on it in time to change the procedure for the 
fiscal year 1912, if this might seem desirable. As the other questions 
had to do with dmerences in technical procedure and conditions 
which were dissimilar in diTerent departments, on June 30 you 
instructed each head of department to designate a representative to 
serve on a joint committee to cooperate with the commission in the 
preparation of a final report. Pursuant to this request, the following 
persons were designated by the head of each department: John W. 
Kean, of the Navy Department; W. E. Butterworth, of the War 
Department; George F. Stone, of the Post Office Department; Charles 
E. Molster, of the Department of Commerce and Labor; E. M. 
Kennard, of the Department of Justice; A. Zappone, of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture; Irwin Rittenhouse, of the Department of the 
Interior; and Ward A. Fitzsimmons, of the Department of State. 
No one was designated as representative of the Treasury Department. 
These gentlemen cooperated with the commission in drafting this 
report. 

ANALYSIS OP EXPENDITURES REPORTED. 

The analyses which were submitted by departments reporting 
showed expenditures for transportation of persons during the month 
of April amounting to $237,033.94. Of this amount, $78,017.11, or 
over 32 per cent, was expended by virtue of statutory allowances, 
all of which, with the exception of less than $100, was expended by the 
Army and Navy and the Department of Commerce and Labor, 
$61,527.65 being expended by the Army. The amount expended by 
virtue of mileage allowances included, it is to be noted, considerable 
expenditure for subsistence; this is evident from the fact that the 
amount which was separately reported as having been spent for 
"subsistence" by the War Department was only $15,025.14, whereas 
the amount separately reported as "subsistence" by other depart- 
ments was $31,032.85 for the Post Office, $36,027.09 for the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, and $34,943.62 for the Department of the 
Interior, in none of which mileage allowances are granted. WTiat 
part of the $78,017.11 was expended for transportation only, there- 
fore, can not be ascertained. 

In the case of those officers who have no mileage allowances, but 
whose actual transportation expenses are paid by the Government, 
the most common method of travel is by single one-way tickets. 
The amount reported as having been paid for such tickets was 
$76,386.24, or over 52 per cent of the total ($145,641.44), as reported 
direct ticket cost of transportation. Of this amount, $21,586.01 were 
expended by the War Department, $17,847.53 by the Department of 
Agriculture, and $15,196.86 by the Department of the Interior. 

As compared with the $76,386.24 spent for single one-way tickets 
(52 per cent of the total direct expenditures for tickets) , the Govern- 
ment expended for round- trip and circular tickets $15,764.69 (nearly 
11 per cent), of which $8,972.73 were spent by the Department of the 
Interior, and $3,655.89 (2^ per cent) for party tickets; all of which, 



REPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 467 

except $263.10 expended for the most part by the Department of 
Commerce and Labor, was spent by the Departments of War and the 
Navy. Only $4,614.88 (about 2} per cent of the total direct expen- 
ditures for tickets) were spent for mileage and script books. Of this 
amount, $2,824.02 were expended by the Department of Agriculture. 
The Government expended in April, almost entirely for the purposes 
of the War and Navy Departments, $48,815.74 (31.4 per cent) by 
virtue of contracts or agreements, in some cases in connection with 
land-grant railroads. The reported direct ticket cost to the Govern- 
ment may be recapitulated as follows: 

Per cent. 

Single one-way tickets 52. 4 

Round-trip and circular tickets 10. 8 

Party tickets 2. 5 

Mileage tickets 2. 7 

Contract 31 . 4 

Other 2 

Total 100.0 

It may be said therefore that the analysis made reveals the fact that, 
apart from travel on mileage allowances and by contracts or agree- 
ments, which methods are adopted almost exclusively in the Depart- 
ments of War and the Navy, the most common method of travel is by 
single-trip one-way tickets and the least common method is by mileage 
or scrip books. These books are used for the most part by one depart- 
ment, viz, the Department of Agriculture. What percentage of the 
total expenditures for the year for all departments each of these 
methods would represent can not be determined from the data in 
hand. It is obvious, however, that the single one-way ticket — on the 
whole the most expensive method of travel — represents a very large 
portion of the total for transportation. 

The figures reported relative to expenditures for subsistence while 
in travel status are less complete than those relative to transportation. 
In the case of such subsistence expenditures the analysis was confined 
to reports received from six departments, viz, State, War, Post Office, 
Agriculture, Interior, and Commerce and Labor. These figures show 
that the Government expended during the month of April for these 
six departments $128,230.54. Of this amount $64,313.63— more than 
half — was expended in accordance with the rule of "per diem in 
lieu of subsistence," the balance in accordance with the rule of 
"actual expenses." Of the $64,313.63 expended for per diem allow- 
ances in lieu of subsistence the Post Office Department expended 
$28,168.45 and the Interior $25,224.33, Commerce and Labor, 
$5,665.60, while the Department of Agriculture, which has adopted 
for the most part the rule of actual expenses, spent only $6.85. 

Expenditures for travel reported by classes by the different depart- 
ments, whether for transportation or for subsistence, can not be 
accurately compared, because of the different methods followed by 
different departments. Thus of the $10,114.07 reported as having 
been expended for standard parlor and sleeping cars, the Department 
of Agriculture expended $3,254.30, while the War Department 
expended only $592.65. From these figures it is not to be concluded, 
however, that the officers of the Department of Agriculture traveled 
more luxuriously than those of the War Department; the large 
amount reported as having been expended by the former department 



468 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

for parlor and sleeping cars is due to the fact that the officers of this 
department travel by the ''actual expense" method, while those of 
the War Department travel on "mileage allowances./' which include 
sleeping ami parlor car as well as ordinary fares. In the same way 
the fact that the Department of Agriculture spent in April $838.79 
for laundry while the Post Office spent only $8.13 is indicative merely 
of the application in the Post Office Department of the rule of "per 
diem in lieu of subsistence/' while the Department of Agriculture has 
adopted the "actual expense" rule. 

But while comparison by classes of expenditures for "transporta- 
tion" and for "subsistence" by the dhTerent departments can not 
be accurately made, it is none the less true that the analysis made 
shows that the employees of the Government have been traveling in 
practically every way that is open to the public ; that a universally ac- 
cepted opinion has not as yet been reached as to the proper method of 
regulating either transportation or subsistence expenditures; and that 
although the Government is spending more for travel than any other 
user of transportation facilities, it has not taken sufficient precautions 
to prevent unnecessary travel nor to insure the use of the cheapest 
methods of travel. 

It is probable that the different methods followed at the present 
time have grown up, in part at any rate, as a result of radical dif- 
ferences in the character of the services in which they are applied. 
In many cases, however, the differences with regard to travel con- 
ditions now existing have no basis in the needs of the different serv- 
ices. Thus it is difficult to see why "mileage allowances" should be 
provided by law for the Steamboat-Inspection Service and "actual 
expenses" should be the rule for most of the other civil services of 
the Government, even for a service so similar in character as that 
recently established for locomotive-boiler inspection. Again, no 
sufficient reason appears why the "per diem in lieu of subsistence" 
should be so commonly adopted in the Post Office Department and 
the Department of the Interior, while in the Department of Agri- 
culture the rule should be that of "actual expenses." 

The lack of uniformity in practice and the lack of regard for econ- 
omy to the Government, it is evident, have been due to some extent 
to the fact that responsibility for travel expenditures has not been 
centralized, the Government establishments at Washington being in 
the same situation as they were in relation to the purchase of supplies 
prior to the organization of the General Supply Committee. It is 
probably true that rules uniform in all particulars could not with 
advantage be applied to all departments and services of the Govern- 
ment. It can not be denied, however, that it is possible to reduce 
most of the different methods which now exist to a few simple arrange- 
ments that will satisfy every requirement and by so doing to effect 
considerable economies in the reduction both of the direct cost of 
travel and the indirect cost incident to the preparation, verification,, 
settlement, audit, and payment of claims for travel expenditures. 

MILEAGE ALLOWANCES. 

The lack of uniformity noted in travel conditions is in large part the 
result of statutory provision. It is, however, due in some degree to 
administrative action. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 469 

Thus it may be said that the grant of a mileage allowance is in all 
instances due to some special provision of statute which distinctly 
states that in the case of certain services or certain classes of officers 
mileage at a certain rate shall be allowed. Since the passage of the 
act of Congress of June 16, 1874 (18 Stat., 72), providing "mat only 
actual traveling expenses shall be allowed to any person holding em- 
ployment or appointment under the United States, and all allowances 
for mileage and transportation in excess of the amount actually paid 
are hereby declared illegal; and no credit shall be allowed to any of 
the disbursing officers of the United States for payments or allow- 
ances in violation of this provision/' whatever power any head of 
department may have had to provide by departmental regulations for 
mileage allowances has ceased to exist. 

All existing mileage allowances must find their basis therefore in 
some later statute inconsistent with the statute of 1874. As a matter 
of fact there are many of these statutes. Thus an act of June 30, 1876, 
repealed the act of 1874 in so far as it concerned officers of the Navy. 
This act, as amended by acts of 1882, 1896, and 1900, provides for the 
allowance to officers of the Navy and of the Marine Corps of 8 cents 
per mile while traveling under orders in the United States. Certain 
officers of the Navy whose pay and allowances are assimilated to those 
of the Army, however, are allowed only 7 cents a mile, while the Secre- 
tary of the Navy is authorized, "in cases where orders are given for 
travel to be performed repeatedly between two or more places in the 
same vicinity," to direct that actual and necessary expenses only be 
allowed: 

In the Army mileage at the rate of 7 cents a mile is allowed under 
the same conditions to officers traveling without troops, veterinarians, 
contract surgeons, and to officers of the National Guard attending 
garrison and service schools (Laws June 12, 1906, 34 Stat., 246; Jan. 
21, 1903, 32 Stat., 778), while 4 cents a mile for travel to place of 
enlistment is allowed to enlisted men on discharge. This is paid on 
the theory of constructive travel in the case of discharged soldiers 
who immediately reenlist and do not as a matter of fact proceed to the 
place of original enlistment. 

Officers of the Army also have the right to have their baggage and 
household effects, within certain limits varying with their rank, 
packed and crated and together with their authorized horses trans- 
ported at the expense of the Government when they change their 
stations. (Act of May 11, 1908, 35 Stat., 119.) 

Both the mileage allowance and the privilege with regard to baggage 
are granted to certain services like the Revenue-Cutter Service, whose 
commissioned officers have, by the law of April 12, 1902 (32 Stat., 
100), " the same pay and allowances except forage as are now or here- 
after may be provided by law for officers of corresponding rank in 
the Army." The same privilege is accorded also to officers of the 
Marine Corps. (15 Comp, Dec, 122.) A recent act of Congress 
gives to employees of the Department of Agriculture, when trans- 
ferred from one official station to another for permanent duty, when 
authorized by the Secretary of Agriculture, the right to traveling 
expenses "including charges for the transfer of their effects and 
personal property." (Act of March 4, 1911, 36 Stat,, 1265.) 

A law of March 3, 1905 (33 Stat., 1027), provides for the payment to 
the Supervising Inspector General, the supervising inspectors and the 



470 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

local and assistant inspectors of the Steamboat-Inspection Service 
of their actual and reasonable traveling expenses or mileage at the 
rate of 5 cents a mile, incurred in the performance of their duties. 

The law of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat,, 412), provides mileage at the 
rate of 7 cents a mile in lieu of all other expenses for every officer of 
the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers not a member of 
the board of managers traveling under orders on business for the 
Home. 

Besides these laws, other acts of Congress provide mileage allow- 
ances for field deputy marshals, clerks of courts, jurors, witnesses, 
and for diplomatic and consular officers at rates varying from 15 to 5 
cents a mile. 

A given rate of mileage is determined upon as proper in all these 
cases because of the belief that it will in the long run be of advantage 
to the Government as compared with actual expenses. But under 
any rate that is fixed it may well happen that an individual officer or a 
class of officers may do much traveling from which profit is derived. 
A long journey combined with a short stay at the destination will thus 
net considerable profit to the traveler on 7 or 8 or even on 5 cent 
mileage. On the other hand, another officer or class of officers may 
do much traveling from which a loss is sustained. For a short journey 
and a long stay or a journey in inaccessible parts of the country will, 
on almost any mileage basis, sometimes cause loss to the traveler. 

It frequently happens, therefore, that the law providing a mileage 
allowance in all cases of travel by specified classes of officers is amended 
so as to permit an officer engaging in unprofitable traveling to receive 
actual expenses instead of the mileage allowance. Thus, in March, 
1906, the Comptroller of the Treasury decided that an officer of the 
Army serving under the Lighthouse Establishment was not entitled to 
reimbursement of actual expenses for travel performed in obedience 
to orders in going to and from places inaccessible to common carriers, 
but could receive only the regular mileage allowance. (12 Comp. 
Dec, 510). An act of Congress passed February 26, 1907 (34 Stat., 
997), provided that " Officers of the Army and Navy detailed for duty 
in connection with the Lighthouse Service shall be paid their actual 
traveling expenses when traveling under orders on official duty to and 
from points which can not be conveniently reached by vessel or 
railroad.' ' 

Sometimes the law is framed in the alternative, as in the cases of the 
Steamboat-Inspection and the Revenue-Cutter Services, giving actual 
expenses or mileage not to exceed a certain rate. 

The tendency is, therefore, that travel on a mileage allowance is 
only that travel where the traveler obtains a profit from traveling, 
while traveling from which no such profit is derived is done on actual 
expenses. 

The grant of mileage allowances is therefore objectionable, since it 
tends to encourage traveling by appealing; to the self-interest of the 
traveler. Inasmuch as it is made use of, if possible, where profits 
from traveling are obtainable, it may easily come to be regarded as 
an oflicial perquisite rather than as a reimbursement for traveling 
expenses actually incurred, although the theory upon which mileage 
allowances are based is that the allowance is given in order that reim- 
bursement may be made for actual expenses incurred and not that 



HEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 471 

the officer's compensation may be increased. (1 Comp. Dec, 531; 
8 ibid, 634; United States v. Smith, 158 U. S., 346.) 

The commission is of the opinion that all provisions of law incon- 
sistent with the law of 1874, which prohibits mileage allowances, 
should be repealed and that that law should be reenacted in order 
that the rule therein laid down for the payment of actual and reason- 
able traveling expenses may be applied to all officers and employees 
of the Government. No change should be made in the mileage 
allowed witnesses and jurors. 

If this recommendation is adopted it will be necessary to make 
special provision for the compensation of field (fee) deputy marshals 
of the United States whose compensation is in large measure derived 
from the mileage allowances now provided by law, and for bounties 
for reenlistment of soldiers and sailors who are now encouraged to 
reenlist by the grant to them of mileage for constructive travel from 
the place of discharge to the place of original reenlistment. 

ACTUAL TRAVELING EXPENSES. 

With the exception of such laws as have been mentioned, the rule is, 
then, that actual traveling expenses alone shall be paid. The law of 
Congress laying down this rule does not provide, however, what 
expenses are to be included within the term "actual traveling ex- 
penses" nor what authority shall authorize the incurring of such 
expenses, nor what kind of ticket or contract shall be used. 

All these matters are left to be fixed by departmental regulations 
which are issued by the head of each department or by the head of 
each of the bureaus in a department. The Comptroller of the Treas- 
ury has thus decided that, though in ultimate analysis he is to deter- 
mine whether a travel expense account is proper (1 Comp. Dec, 549), 
he will be governed in the determination of whether or not particular 
classes of items of personal expenses shall be allowed as traveling 
-expenses by the regulations of the heads of departments. (9 Comp. 
Dec, 156.) 

There has apparently been little effort upon the part of the depart- 
ments, and in some cases even of the bureaus of a single department, 
to compare notes and, as a result of profiting by the experiences of 
particular services or departments, to frame uniform regulations as to 
those particulars with regard to which the statutes permit of adminis- 
trative determination. There are therefore at the present time as 
many regulations as there are departments and in some cases almost 
as many regulations for the services in a department as there are 
services in that department. These regulations usually treat of the 
following objects: 

Gkant of Authority. 

There is an almost uniform rule among the departments requiring 
that authority to travel on departmental business must be granted 
by the Secretary of such department, his assistant, or by the chief of 
the particular bureau or office. The Comptroller of the Treasury has 
held that where the statute provides that the duties of a bureau shall 
be performed under the authority of the head of the department an 
order to travel given by the head of a bureau without the approval 



472 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of the head of the department is sufficient authority. (9 Comp. 
Dec, 351.) This authority further may be given after the travel has 
been performed. (12 Comp. Dec., 476.) 

Routes and Methods of Travel. 

Considerable uniformity exists also in requiring that the shortest 
practicable route be taken, that efforts be made to avoid duplication 
of travel, and that limited, excursion, and round-trip tickets be used 
where practicable. 

Mileage and Scrip Books. 

The Comptroller of the Treasury originally regarded the purchase 
of mileage books as illegal, but later decided that the departments are 
authorized under the law to purchase such books. (13 Comp. Dec. r 
503.) While most of the departments now allow mileage books and 
advocate more or less strongly their use wherever practicable, the 
Departments of Justice and Commerce and Labor and the Isthmian 
Canal Commission forbid their purchase. Commutation tickets and 
rebates are also forbidden by the last two organizations. 

The Department of Agriculture is the most extensive user of mile- 
age books, and estimates a saving by their use of $3,509.50 during the 
fiscal year 1910. In reporting on the mileage used in this department 
it was stated that the saving as compared with tickets averaged about 
a half cent per mile. Since the inquiry began one other department 
has experimentally purchased mileage books for one of its bureaus, 
and it is stated that a considerable saving will be realized. In con- 
sidering the saving, however, it is to be understood that the gross is 
not to be taken. To the mileage-book cost is to be added any addi- 
tional clerk hire which is assignable to the recording and handling 
of mileage books; this is to be reduced, on the other hand, by any sav- 
ing in time which may be realized in the audit and certification of 
travel vouchers where the trip tickets must necessarily be checked 
against traffic schedules. 

The regulation of the Department of Agriculture in the matter 
reads as follows: 

Mileage books may be procured, when in the interest of the Government, by exchang- 
ing transportation requests therefor, but the use of these books is not recommended 
except in connection with short trips within specifically described territory and where 
the traveler knows definitely that books purchased will be entirely used within the 
same fiscal year. 

The Navy Department also uses mileage books whenever prac- 
ticable, particularly in the case of local trips, but finds their general 
use impracticable, partly because of the difficulty of apportioning the 
expense of travel under them to the various appropriations. 

Several objections are urged to the use of mileage books under 
existing conditions as a method of paying for transportation. 

In the first place, there are cheaper methods applicable either to all 
employees of the Government who may be traveling or to certain 
classes. Both the Navy and the War Departments secure contract 
rates for parties of enlisted men, and even for individual employees, 
and in some cases these rates are lower than mileage-book rates. At 
the present time, however, these contracts affect only the employees 
of departments which are parties to them, and are not open to 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 473 

employees of other departments. In some cases these contracts pro- 
vide for a discount of 15 per cent from the standard rate. The com- 
mission is of the opinion that inquiry should be made into the feasi- 
bility of making these special contract rates available for the employees 
of all the executive departments and other Government establishments. 
Further, land-grant and bond- aided railroads allow free transporta- 
tion in some cases and 50 per cent reduction in others. In the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, therefore, mileage books are not permitted to be 
used for transportation on land-grant or bond- aided railroads. This 
department sets forth in connection with its travel regulations a map 
on which these railroads are displayed. Both the War and the Navy 
Departments use Government transports for carrying enlisted men 
when possible. The War Department claims that mileage books are 
practicable only in transportation of civilian employees, and this only 
to a limited extent. The cost of the travel of this class is only 2J 
per cent of the total transportation cost. 

The Post Office Department is also in a peculiar position, since under 
the mail contracts its inspectors are transported free, except that it 
pays fares in cases where the nature of their work requires the 
inspectors' identity to be concealed. 

In the second place, the conditions appended by the railroad com- 
panies to the sale and use of mileage books are so (liferent that under 
existing circumstances the advantageous use of mileage books by 
Government officers is quite limited. A common requirement by the 
railroad companies is that the use of a mileage book be confined to 
the individual purchaser. The Interstate Commerce Commission is 
of the opinion that the present law will not permit a head of a depart- 
ment or bureau to purchase a number of mileage books and assign 
them as needed to persons traveling in the interest of the Govern- 
ment. In other cases the advantage of using mileage books is de- 
rived from a refund to the user made by the railroad company only 
under conditions with which it is not always convenient or even 
possible to comply. 

Indeed, the greatest possible advantage to be derived from the use 
of mileage books is to be found only in the case of mileage books that 
can be used during at least a year by the person in temporary posses- 
sion of them, and permitting refund for the unused portion. Such 
mileage books are comparatively rare. 

Finally, the use of even the most desirable mileage books involves 
a careful system of account keeping upon the part of the service using 
them, and the expense thereof goes far toward wiping out the profit 
which may be derived from their use. 

It is possible, however, to devise a scheme of mileage books for the 
exclusive use of Government employees so that the Government 
would save a considerable amount over and above the cost of the 
accounting work which their use would necessitate. 

Mr. Zappone, of the Department of Agriculture, thus proposes, in a 
report made April 3, 1911, to the committee on economy and efficiency 
of that department: 

1. That a national mileage book at a flat rate be adopted by all of the railroads for 
the exclusive use of the Government, said books to be interchangeable and transfer- 
able. This can only be accomplished by mutual agreement among the various traffic 
lines, and the rate fixed upon can not be higher than the lowest rate which has been 
established by the various State statutes. In other words, it is thought that railroad 



474 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

companies may charge a lower rate than that established by State laws, but can not 
charge a higher rate. In view of the large amount of traveling done by the employees 
of the Government, it is believed that the railroad should agree to a flat rate of 2 cents 
a mile. 

Definition of Travel Expenses 

There is practical uniformity among the departments and bureaus 
with regard to allowing (in addition to railway and steamboat, etc., 
fares) street car fares to and from hotels and railroad stations, omni- 
bus or carriage being allowed only when street cars are not available; 
checking of baggage, sometimes with a limit of 10 cents for each piece; 
transfer of baggage, generally under a 50-cent limit; sleeping car, 
one double berth for each person l parlor car seat; reasonable steward 
fees for water travel, on vessels other than Government transports; 
and stateroom on vessels. Some departments, like the War and 
Navy Departments, ahVw limited sums to be paid as rent for steamer 
chairs; others make no mention of the subject. The use of extra- 
fare trains is forbidden except in extraordinary cases where the 
service will benefit thereby. Quite uniformly special conveyances 
are allowed when there is no regular conveyance. Where travel is 
by livery team, horse feed, and, if necessary, driver's expenses are 
allowed. 

There is manifested also a general desire to enforce the use of trans- 
portation requests where such can be used (for amounts of over $2), 
and especially on land-grant and bond-aided railroads. It is said, how- 
ever, that the railroads sometimes do not accept these requests as 
cash in their low rates for cash, and hence that the Government must 
pay more than the cash-paying public. Generally, a request by an 
officer or employee for reimbursement for transportation by water 
must state whether meals are included with the ticket. In those de- 
partments allowing the use of mileage books their use must be re- 
ported. 

SUBSISTENCE. 

Where mileage is not allowed provision must be made for sub- 
sistence as well as for transportation. 

The act of 1874, hereinbefore referred to, as reenacted by the act 
of March 3, 1875, providing that only actual traveling expenses 
shall be allowed in the absence of specific statutory provision to the 
contrary, and sections 1763, 1764, and 1765 of the Revised Statutes, 
prohibiting extra compensation, are construed by the Comptroller 
of the Treasury as prohibiting the grant of a per diem allowance in 
lieu of subsistence to an officer whose compensation is fixed by law 
or regulations (17 Comp. Dec, 619), but as permitting the grant of 
such an allowance to one whose compensation is fixed by the head 
of a department. (4 Comp. Dec, 424.) 

As the compensation of practically only those employees of the 
Government who are paid out of lump-sum appropriations is fixed 
b}^ the head of a department it follows that to this class and 
practically to this class alone may be awarded a per diem allowance 
in lieu of subsistence where provision for such allowance is not made 
by law. It is to be noted, however, first, that there are special acts 

1 The bo ird of managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers may have each a section; 
16 Comp. Dec, 239. 



REPOKT'S OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 475 

of Congress which specifically provide such per diem allowances for 
particular classes of employees, and, second, that not all the heads 
of departments having power to do so have provided such per diem 
allowances. Thus most of the employees paid out of lump-sum 
appropriations in the Department of Agriculture are paid actual 
expenses and not per diem allowances. The result of the provisions 
either of the statute law or of the departmental regulations is that 
there is a noticeable lack of uniformity in the practices of the various 
departments relating to subsistence. This lack of uniformity 
extends, in at least one instance, to the various bureaus within a 
department, viz, that of Commerce and Labor. For example, the 
Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Naturalization allow actual 
expenses, while the Bureaus of the Census and of Labor allow per 
diem in lieu of subsistence. The same lack of uniformity, which is 
noticeable relative to the rates of mileage allowances, is also to be 
found in the amounts of the per diem allowances in lieu of sub- 
sistence. They vary between 30 cents' commutation of rations for 
lighthouse keepers and keepers of life-saving stations to $4 for 
expenses of employees of the Indian Office, for example. 

Taken together, the methods adopted may be grouped into three 
general classes: 

1 . Per diem allowances in lieu of subsistence ; 

2. Actual expenses not to exceed a stated limit, varying from $3. 
to $6 and even $8 a day in exceptional cases; 1 and 

3. Fixed mileage allowances which include all expenses. 

Classes 1 and 2 are both found in different bureaus of the Depart- 
ment of the Interior, although the general rule in this department is 
actual expenses, with a limit of $5 a day or even $8 a day in excep- 
tional cases. In this department per diem allowances are provided 
by law in certain cases. Where this is done they generally do not 
exceed $3 a day, but in the Land Office in certain cases the per diem 
is $4 a day. A larger allowance, viz, $6, is made for work in Alaska. 
These per diem allowances are usually fixed in the various appropria- 
tion acts providing for the field officers. The Post Office per diem 
is fixed at $3 per day, although until recently it was $4 a da}^. 

All personal expenses, including meals en route, are to be paid 
out of the per diem or out of the limited amount allowed for sub- 
sistence expenses actually incurred. In some instances, as in the 
case of six inspectors in the office of the Assistant Attorney General 
in the Interior Department, the law allows specifically a per diem, 
exclusive of sleeping-car and transportation expenses. But where 
this is not the case the comptroller now holds such expenses for 
sleeping cars to be a transportation and not a subsistence expense. 

The Departments of Justice, State, Agriculture, and the Treasury 
allow actual expenses up to $5 per day. In certain enumerated 
cities this limit is raised to $6 by the Department of Justice. In 
the War Department enlisted men when traveling and not carrying 
rations are allowed commutation of rations up to $1.50 a day. 
Officers of the Army traveling by sea get their actual expenses; if 
without troops and in Alaska, actual expenses up to $4.50 a day are 
allowed. When transshipping at an intermediate port, they are 
allowed hotel expenses not exceeding $6 a day. 

i The Isthmian Canal Commission provides no limit in the case of employees whose salary is So, 000 or 
over. 



476 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

In the Navy Department actual expenses, when allowed, are subject 
to a limit varying from $3 to $6 a clay, according to rank. Civilian 
employees are allowed the expenses of such rank as may be designated 
by the Secretary of the Navy. 

Items Included Under Subsistence. 

There seems to be no generally accepted usage as to what shall be 
included under the term subsistence. One department has defined 
it as including those expenses relating peculiarly to the person. 

Most of the departments not having the per diem allowance in 
lieu of subsistence do not include laundry and bath expenses (when 
allowed) within the $5 (or other) limit to actual hotel expenses. 
Board and lodging are the items generally referred to as within this 
limit, but in the case of the War and Navy Departments this limit 
includes baths. 

In the case of the items of expense allowed as subsistence expense 
the regulations of the departments and bureaus differ most as to 
baths, laundry, and tips. 

Baths. 

Expense for baths is allowed by the Departments of War, Agri- 
culture, Navy, Treasury, Post Office, and State. Baths are not 
mentioned in the regulations of the bureaus, of the Department of 
Commerce and Labor, but a "reasonable" expense for them is 
allowed where the travel is for a period of a week or more by the 
regulations of the Indian Office and the General Land Office. 

Laundry. 

Expense for laundry when " reasonable" is allowed by the State 
Department; and where the travel is for a period of a week or more, 
when " reasonable," by the Treasury, Post Office, Indian Office, and 
General Land Office; within a limit of $1.25 a week by the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, and within a limit of $5 to $6 a month, dependent 
upon the part of the country in which the travel takes place, by the 
Department of Justice. 

Tips. 

Tips on sleeping cars are allowed by the Department of Agricul- 
ture (limit 25 cents), Navy (25 to 50 cents), Treasury (reasonable), 
Justice (25 cents), Bureau of Mines (25 cents), Indian Office and 
General Land Office (reasonable), Pension Office (25 cents), and 
Bureau of Department of Commerce and Labor (25 cents); tips on 
parlor cars are allowed by the Departments of Agriculture (10 cents), 
Navy (25 to 50 cents), Justice (15 cents), Treasury, Indian Office, 
and General Land Office (reasonable), and the bureaus of the Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor (25 cents). 

Tips to " waiters and bell boys," with a 50 cent a day limit, are 
allowed by the War Department to its officers when transshipping at 
intermediate ports; "tips at hotels," with a limit of from 30 to 50 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 477 

cents a da}', to officers and civilian employees by the Navy Depart- 
ment; to "waiters/ 5 with a 45 cent a day limit, but not to bell hoys, 
by the Department of Justice; and in the case of several bureaus, 
an example of which is the Bureau of Manufactures, "the customary 
scale of fees" where travel is in foreign countries. 

The Department of Agriculture alone mentions the item of medi- 
cines, and it allows such to nonstatutory employees only, and then 
only when authorized by the Secretary. 

The Navy Department has a system of meal requests analogous 
to transportation requests. 

What has just been said does not apply to those departments 
having the per diem allowance in lieu of subsistence. They are not 
burdened with investigations of the propriety of subsistence expenses, 
but pay the per diem allowances in lieu of subsistence the same as the 
salary and leave, the employee to take care of liimself as he pleases. 
After some hesitation the Comptroller of the Treasury has finally 
decided that sleeping-car expenses are not to be included in a per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, but are to be included in transportation 
expenses. (5 Comp. Dec, 508.) 

The advantage of mileage allowances, which include subsistence 
as well as transportation, is to be found in the small amount of clerical 
labor required to keep account of and to audit travel expenses. In 
so far, however, as concerns the item of transportation this advan- 
tage is offset by the encouragement which such mileage allowance 
gives to unnecessary travel and to the development in the minds of 
those persons to whom mileage is allowed of the idea that the mileage 
allowance is an official perquisite. 

All the advantages attached to the mileage allowance are present 
in the case of a reasonable per diem allowance in lieu of subsistence, 
and at the same time are unaccompanied by the disadvantage to 
which allusion has been made. Furthermore, a reasonable per diem 
in lieu of subsistence is in most cases calculated to promote economy 
on the part of the Government in its travel expenditures, since the 
individual to whom it is granted knows he must keep within the 
allowance or pay for any extras out of his own pocket. 

The only case in which a per diem in lieu of subsistence reasonable 
in amount is susceptible of abuse is where it is allowed to persons who 
have changed their residence and are not actually traveling, on the 
theory that such change has not taken place, and that the travel con- 
tinues. Under these conditions it may become a disguised form of 
compensation. Such an abuse may, however, easily be guarded 
against by providing that the per diem shall not be allowed beyond a 
certain period to one who has made no change in the place of his 
actual residence. Provisions of this character are now to be found in 
the appropriation acts for the Post Office Department. 

The commission is therefore of the opinion that the per diem allow- 
ance in lieu of the subsistence should be adopted as the universal 
method of defraying that portion of travel expense not included in 
transportation, and that it should be defined with such particularity 
as both clearly to differentiate it from transportation expenses, and 
to indicate with certainty what items are included within it. 

The commission has received from one of the departments the sug- 
gestion that a very large saving could be made in the amounts paid 



478 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY.. 

to hotels for lodgings and meals by arranging for special discounts or 
special rates for officers and employees of the Government traveling 
on official business. It is stated that many hotels in all parts of the 
country make special rates for classes of persons visiting such hotels 
frequently, and that probably similar arrangements might be made 
for the large number of Government employees regularly traveling in 
all parts of the country. The commission believes the question should 
be investigated, and recommends that the President direct an inquiry 
to be made, through the general supply committee, or other proper 
agency, and that a report be submitted to the President. 

VERIFICATION. 

All accounts for actual expenses of travel, except those of the Isth- 
mian Canal Commission and those paid from postal revenues, must 
be verified under oath before they may be allowed, under the deci- 
sions of the Comptroller of the Treasury. The comptroller bases his 
last decisions with regard to this matter upon Treasury Circular No. 
52 of 1907, issued in pursuance of the law of July 31, 1894, which, 
circular provides for such verification. (15 Comp. Dec, 323; 14 
ibid., 13.) 

The law of 1894 provides that "the Comptroller of the Treasury 
shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, prescribe 
the forms of keeping and rendering all public accounts, except those 
relating to the postal revenues and expenditures therefrom. ;; 

Apart, however, from this provision of law, and from the power 
which any accounting officer must have to determine what evidence 
will satisfy him as to the correctness of an account, there is no general 
provision of law requiring an expense account to be verified. Fur- 
thermore, beyond satisfying the demands of accounting officers for 
competent and satisfactory evidence of the correctness of the accounts 
which they are called upon to examine, the verification of the expense 
accounts of Government officers where such verification is not required 
by some statutory provision has no legal effect. 

Section 125 of the Act of March 4, 1909 (35 Stat., 1111), is as 
follows : 

Whoever, having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in 
any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, 
that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, 
declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed, is true, shall willfully and 
contrary to such oath state or subscribe any material matter which he does not believe 
to be true, is guilty of perjury, and shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars 
and imprisoned not more than five years. 

The affidavit required by the Comptroller of the Treasury to be 
attached to expense accounts is in most cases not one required by 
law, and if an employee swears falsely to his accounts he can not be 
convicted of perjury, but he may be reached under the act of March. 
4, 1911 (36 Stat., 1355), for falsifying his accounts. 

On the theory that no provision of law required the verification of 
expense accounts generally, the Comptroller of the Treasury has held, 
as has been said, that if the Isthmian Canal Commission "does not 
require affidavits to vouchers for traveling expenses such affidavits 
will not be required by the accounting officers of the Treasury."' (11 
Comp. Dec, 812.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 479 

The Secretary of the Treasury on April 30, 1908, also held that the 
affidavit might be omitted from reimbursement accounts submitted 
by employees of the Geological Survey, under authority contained in 
the act of June 30, 1906 (34 Stat., 727), and from the reimbursement 
accounts of school teachers in Alaska in the employ of the Bureau of 
Education, under authority of the act of March 21, 1906 (34 Stat., 
824), the former of which is as follows: 

And the Secretary of the Interior is further authorized, in his discretion, under such 
regulations as he may prescribe, to reimburse the scientific and other employees for 
expenses incurred by them in the discharge of their duties in the field and paid from 
their personal funds. 

While the latter provides — 

That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to permit teachers 
and other employees of the United States Bureau of Education employed in Alaska to 
make assignments of their pay. under such regulations as he may prescribe, during 
such time as they may be in the employ of the Bureau of Education in Alaska, and 
the Secretary of the Interior is further authorized, in his discretion, under such regu- 
lations as he may prescribe, to reimburse school-teachers in Alaska for expenses 
incurred by them in the discharge of their duties and paid from their personal funds. 

In two comparatively recent decisions it has been held that the cost 
of verifying travel expense accounts, even when the verification is 
required by law, is to be assumed by the Government and not by the 
employee verifying the account. (12 Comp. Dec, 285; 16 ibid., 766.) 

The commission is informed that it costs the Government between 
$5,000 and $10,000 a year for affidavits made to expense accounts by 
employees of the Interior Department and its bureaus, and there have 
been instances where the affidavit has cost more than the account — 
notably in one instance — the account was $0.60 and the affidavit cost 
$1, that being the amount allowed by the jurisdiction where the affi- 
davit was administered. It has also been estimated by the Treasury 
Department that these affidavits throughout the Government cost 
about $60,000 per annum. Where the affidavit is not required by 
law it is of no benefit, as a person who will falsify his accounts will do 
so as readily where he has to make an affidavit not required by law, 
and therefore is not guilty of perjury, as where the accounts are passed 
on a certificate of honor. 

With the idea of discouraging unnecessary travel by Government 
officers and employees, and because of its belief that both economy 
and efficiency will result from a greater uniformity of travel regula- 
tions, the commission has recommended certain changes in existing 
law and drafted regulations which, if adopted, it is hoped will secure 
greater uniformity than exists at present. These recommendations 
are set forth on pages 1 to 4 of this report. 

Respectfully submitted. 

F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

W. W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
Harvey S. Chase. 
M. O. Chance, 

Secretary. 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 31 



480 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Exhibit No. IE. 

COMPILATION OF ACTS OF CONGRESS RELATING TO MILEAGE ALLOW- 
ANCES AND PER DIEM ALLOWANCES IN LIEU OF SUBSISTENCE. 

I. Mileage allowance. 

1. War Department—The act of June 12, 1906 (34 Stat., 246, 247), 
provides for the payment of mileage to officers of the Army when trav- 
eling under competent orders, without troops, at the rate of 7 cents 
per mile and no more, distance to be computed in accordance with 
mileage tables prepared by the Paymaster General of the Army 
under the direction of the Secretary of War, with deductions for 
travel over land-grant or bond-aided railroads, or when transportation 
is furnished in kind at the rate of 3 cents per mile. For sea travel 
actual expenses only are allowed. Also by act of May 11, 1908 (35 
Stat., 114), actual expenses only, limited to $4.50 per day, of officers 
traveling in Alaska are allowed. 

The act of February 27, 1893 (27 Stat., 480), provides: 

That hereafter the maximum sum to be allowed paymasters' clerks and the expert 
accountant of the Inspector General's Department when traveling on duty shall be 
four cents per mile, and, in addition thereto, when transportation can not be fur- 
nished by the Quartermaster's Department the cost of same actually paid by them, 
exclusive of sleeping or parlor car fare and transfers. 

The Army act of March 3, 1911 (36 Stat,, 1044), provides as fol- 
lows: 

Hereafter the pay and allowances of Army paymasters' clerks shall be the same as 
provided for Navy paymasters' clerks on shore duty. 

One of the allowances of a Navy paymaster's clerk is mileage when 
traveling under orders. (See 6 Comp. Dec, 45.) The Navy pay- 
master's clerk is an officer, and as such is entitled to mileage at the 
rate of 8 cents per mile, under act of March 3, 1901 (31 Stat., 1029). 

Officers of the Army serving under the Bureau of Lighthouses of 
the Department of Commerce and Labor, as Commissioner of the 
District of Columbia or under the District government, or assigned 
temporarily under any department or establishment receive the 
ordinary mileage for travel under order of the department or estab- 
lishment. 

An act of August 18, 1894 (28 Stat., 412), provides mileage at the 
rate of 7 cents a mile in lieu of all other expenses for every officer of 
the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers not a member of 
the Board of Managers, traveling under orders on business for the 
home. 

2. Navy Department— -The act of June 30, 1876 (19 Stat., 65), pro- 
vides that so much of the act of June 16, 1874, as provided that only 
actual traveling expenses should be allowed to any person holding 
employment or appointment under the United States while so en- 
gaged on public business as is applicable to officers of the Navy so 
engaged, is hereby repealed and the sum of 8 cents per mile shall be 
allowed such officers while so engaged in lieu of their actual expenses. 

The act of August 5, 1882 (22 Stat,, 286), provides: 

Mileage to officers while traveling under orders in the United States and for actual 
personal expenses of officers while traveling abroad under orders; and officers of the 
Navy traveling abroad under orders hereafter issued shall travel by the most direct 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 481 

route, the occasion and. necessity for such order to be certified by the officer issuing 
the same; and shall receive, in lieu of the mileage now allowed by law, only their 
actual and reasonable expenses, certified under their own signatures and approved 
by the Secretary of the Navy. 

Section 13 of the act of March 3, 1889 (30 Stat., 1007), provides: 

Commissioned officers of the line of the Navy and of the Medical and Pay Corps shall 
receive the same pay and allowances except forage as are or may be provided by or in 
pursuance of law for the officers of corresponding rank in the Army: Provided, That 
such officers when on shore shall receive the allowances, but fifteen per centum less 
pay than when on sea duty; * * * Provided further, That when naval officers are 
detailed to shore duty beyond the seas they shall receive the same pay and allowances 
as are or may be provided by or in pursuance of law for officers of the Army detailed 
for duty in similar places. 

The act of June 7, 1900 (31 Stat., 685), provides: 

That in lieu of traveling expenses and all allowances whatsoever connected there- 
with, including transportation of baggage, officers of the Navy traveling from point 
to point within the United States shall hereafter receive mileage at the rate of eight 
cents per mile, distance to be computed by the shortest usually traveled route; but 
in cases where orders are given for travel to be performed repeatedly between two or 
more places in the same vicinity, the Secretary of the Navy may, in his discretion, 
direct that actual and necessary expenses only be allowed. Actual expenses 
only shall be paid for travel under orders outside the limits of the United States of 
North America. 

The act of June 10, 1896 (29 Stat., 376), provides: 

The officers of the Marine Corps traveling under orders without troops shall be 
allowed the same mileage as is now allowed officers of the Navy traveling without 
troops. 

Officers of the* Navy serving under the Bureau of Lighthouses of 
the Department of Commerce and Labor, or assigned temporarily 
under any other department or establishment, receive the ordinary 
mileage. 

The act of June 29, 1906 (34 Stat., 555), provides: 

For the transportation of enlisted men and apprentice seamen at home and abroad, 
with subsistence and transfers en route, or cash in lieu thereof, transportation to their 
homes, if residents of the United States, of enlisted men and apprentice seamen 
discharged on medical survey, with subsistence and transfers en route, or cash in lieu 
thereof; transportation of sick or insane enlisted men and apprentice seamen to 
hospitals, with subsistence and transfers en route, or cash in lieu thereof * * * 
Provided, That hereafter enlisted men, discharged on account of expiration of enlist- 
ment, shall receive in lieu of transportation and subsistence travel allowance of 
four cents per mile from the place of discharge to the place of enlistment for travel in 
the United States. 

The travel pay of enlisted men of the Marine Corps is governed by 
the law of the Army, under section 1612 of the Revised Statutes, 
which reads as follows : 

The officers of the Marine Corps shall be entitled to receive the same pay and 
allowances, and the enlisted men shall be entitled to receive the same pay and bounty 
for reenlistment, as are or may be provided by or in pursuance of law for officers or 
enlisted men of like grades in the Infantry of the Army. 

The act of March 2, 1901 (31 Stat., 902), provides: 

Provided, also, * * * and an enlisted man, when discharged from the service, 
except by way of punishment for an offense, shall receive four cents per mile from 
the place of his discharge to the place of his enlistment, enrollment, or original muster 
into service * * * Provided further, That for sea travel on discharge actual 
expenses only shall be paid to officers and transportation and subsistence only shall 
be furnished to enlisted men. 



482 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

3. Department oj Justice. — Field deputy marshals receive — 

For transporting criminals ten cents a mile for himself and for each prisoner and 
necessary guard. (Rev. Stat., sec. 829, par. 20.) 

and — 

For travel in going only to serve any process warrant, attachment, or other writ, 
including writs of subpoena in civil or criminal cases, six cents a mile. (Rev. Stat., 
par. 25.) 

Clerks of United States courts receive — 

For travel from the office of the clerk where he is required to reside to the place of 
holding any court required by law to be held, five cents a mile for going and five 
cents a mile for returning. (Rev. Stat., sec. 829.) 

Jurors in the United States courts receive — 

For the distance necessarily traveled from their residence in going to or returning 
from said court by the shortest practicable route, five cents a mile. (Rev. Stat., sec. 

852.) 

Vv T itnesses in the United States courts receive — 

Five cents a mile for going from his place of residence to the place of trial or hear- 
ing, and five cents a mile for returning. (Rev. Stat., sec. 848.) 

Under section 30 of the act of June 6, 1900 (31 Stat., 332), the 
Attorney General fixes the mileage allowed in Alaska. This varies 
from time to time and differs in the several divisions of the Territory. 

The act of May 27, 1908 (35 Stat., 377), provides for jurors and 
witnesses in Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, 
Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona an 
allowance of " fifteen cents for each mile necessarily traveled over 
any stage line, or by private conveyance. " 

4. State Department. — The annual appropriation acts since 1907 
have provided mileage in the case of "transportation of diplomatic 
and consular officers in going to and returning from their posts or 
when traveling under orders of the Secretary of State, at the rate of 
five cents per mile. " 

5. Department oj Commerce and Labor. — The act of March 3, 1905 
(33 Stat., 1027), provides in the case of the inspectors of the Steam- 
Boat-Inspection Service of the Department of Commerce and Labor 
that— 

Every inspector provided for in this or the preceding sections of this title shall be 
paid his actual and reasonable traveling expenses or mileage, at the rate of five cents 
a mile, incurred in the performance of his duties, together with his actual and reason- 
able expenses for transportation of instruments. 

6. Treasury Department.— The act of April 12, 1902 (32 Stat., 100), 
provides : 

That the commissioned officers of the United States Revenue-Cutter Service shall 
hereafter receive the same pay and allowances, except forage, as are now or may 
hereafter be provided by law for officers of corresponding rank in the Army, including 
longevity pay. 

The act of April 16, 1908 (35 Stat., 61), provides: 

That on and after the passage of this act the President be, and is hereby, authorized 
to appoint in the Revenue-Cutter Service, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, one captain commandant for a period of four years, who may be reappointed 
for further periods of four years each, who shall act as chief of the division of Revenue- 
Cutter Service, with the rank of a colonel in the Army and a captain in the Navy, and 
who shall have the pay and allowances of a colonel in the Army; six senior captains, 
who shall perform duty in connec tion with the construction of vessels and the inspec- 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 483 

tion of their armament and crews and such other duties as the Secretary of the Treasury 
or the President may prescribe, each with the rank of a lieutenant colonel in the Army 
and a commander in the Navy, and who shall each have the pay and allowances of a 
lieutenant colonel in the Army; one engineer in chief for a period of four years, who 
may be reappointed for further periods of four years each, with the rank of a lieutenant 
colonel in the Army and a commander in the Navy, and who shall have the pay and 
allowances of a lieutenant colonel in the Army; and six senior engineers, who shall 
perform duty in connection with the construction and inspection of the machinery of 
vessels and such other duties as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, each 
with the rank of a major in the Army and a lieutenant commander in the Navy, and 
who shall each have the pay and allowances of a major in the Army. 

Under the above authority officers in the Revenue-Cutter Service 
receive the same mileage of 7 cents a mile that is given to officers of 
corresponding rank in the United States Army. 

II. Per diem allowances in lieu of subsistence. 

1. War Department. — The annual appropriation act, under the 
title "Subsistence of the Army/' which is found for the fiscal year 
1912 in 36 Stat., 1046, provides for the payment of commutation of 
rations to enlisted men when traveling under orders. The rate of 
commutation paid is fixed at $1.50 per day by paragraph 1245, 
Army Regulations of 1910. 

2. Interior Department. — Per diem allowances in lieu of subsistence 
to officers and employees of the Interior Department are provided for 
as a rule in the acts making annual appropriations for the expenses of 
that department. Such allowances are authorized in current appro- 
priations as follows: 

INSPECTORS. 

For per diem in lieu of subsistence of two special inspectors, Department of the Inte- 
rior, while traveling on duty, at a rate to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, not 
exceeding three dollars per day * * *. 

For traveling expenses of six inspectors, at three dollars per day, when actually 
employed on duty in the field, exclusive of transportation and sleeping-car fare, in 
lieu of all other expenses now authorized by law * * *. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 
Stat., 1214.) 

Office of Indian Affairs, 
irrigation, indian reservations. 

* * * For traveling expenses of two inspectors of irrigation, at three dollars per 
diem when actually employed on duty in the field, exclusive of transportation and 
sleeping-car fare, in lieu of all other expenses authorized by law * * *. (Act Mar. 
3, 1911, 36 Stat., 1059.) 

CONTINGENCIES, INDIAN SERVICE. 

* * * For traveling and incidental expenses of special agents, at three dollars 
per day when actually employed on duty in the field, exclusive of transportation and 
sleeping-car fare, in lieu of all other expenses * * *. (Act Mar. 3, 1911, 36 Stat., 
1061.) 

SUPPLIES FOR THE INDIANS. 

* * * Provided, That when it becomes necessary to detail clerks or other employ- 
ees of the Indian Service outside of Washington to assist in the opening of bids, making 
contracts, and shipping goods, they may be allowed a per diem of not exceeding four 
dollars per day for hotel and other expenses, which per diem shall be in lieu of all other 
expenses not authorized by law, exclusive of railway transportation and sleeping-car 
fare. (Act May 17, 1882, 22 Stat., 86.) 



484 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Pension Office. 

For per diem, when absent from home and traveling outside the District of Colum- 
bia, of special examiners or other persons employed in the Bureau of Pensions, detailed 
for the purpose of making special investigations, in lieu of expenses for subsistence, 
not exceeding three dollars per day. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1216.) 

General Land Office. 

For per diem in lieu of subsistence of examiners and of clerks detailed to investigate 
fraudulent land entries, trespasses on the public lands, and cases of official miscon- 
duct, while traveling on duty, at a rate to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, 
not exceeding four dollars per day * * *. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1215.) 

SURVEYING THE PUBLIC LANDS. 

The surveys and resurveys to be made by such competent surveyors as the Secre- 
tary of the Interior may select at such compensation not exceeding two hundred dol- 
lars per month * * * and such per diem allowance, in lieu of subsistence, not 
exceeding three dollars, as he may prescribe, and actual necessary expenses for trans- 
portation * * * said per diem and traveling expenses to be allowed to all survey- 
ors employed hereunder and to such clerks who are competent surveyors who may be 
detailed to make surveys, resurveys, or examination of surveys * * *. (Act Mar. 
4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1416.) 

EXAMINATION OF LANDS IN THE NORTHERN PACIFIC GRANT. 

Provided, That agents and others employed under this appropriation shall be 
allowed per diem, subject to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior 
may prescribe, in lieu of subsistence at a rate not exceeding three dollars per day 
* * *. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1307.) 

CONTINGENT EXPENSES OF LAND OFFICES. 

Provided, That this appropriation shall be available for the payment of per diem, in 
lieu of subsistence, not exceeding four dollars per day, of clerks detailed to examine 
the books and management of district land offices * * *. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 
Stat., 1414.) 

PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS. 

Provided, That agents and others employed under this appropriation shall be allowed 
per diem, subject to such rules and regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, in lieu 
of subsistence, at a rate not exceeding three dollars per day each, * * * except 
when agents are employed in the District of Alaska they may be allowed not exceeding 
six dollars per day each, in lieu of subsistence. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1415.) 

EXAMINATION OF DESERT LANDS. 

Provided, That if such examinations be made by detailed clerks or employees of 
the department they shall be entitled to actual necessary expenses for transportation, 
including necessary sleeping-car fares, and not exceeding three dollars per day in lieu 
of subsistence, (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1415.) 

Bureau of Mines. 

mine inspectors. 

For per diem, subject to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior 
may prescribe, in lieu of subsistence, at a rate not exceeding three dollars per day 
each while absent from their homes on duty, except while in Alaska, when such allow- 
ance shall be at the rate of five dollars and for actual necessary traveling expenses of 
said inspectors * * *. (Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1419.) 

Bureau of Education. 

EDUCATION IN ALASKA. 

* * * Provided, That no person employed hereunder as special agent or inspector, 
or to perform any special or unusual duty in connection herewith, shall receive a» 
compensation exceeding two hundred dollars per month, in addition to actual trav- 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 485 

eling expenses and per diem not exceeding four dollars in lieu of subsistence * * *. 
(Act Mar. 4, 1911, 36 Stat., 1420.) 

3. Post Office Department.— -The act of March 4, 1911 (36 Stat., 
1327), provides: 

For per diem allowance of inspectors in the field while actually traveling on official 
business away from their home, their official domicile, and their headquarters, at a 
rate to be fixed by the Postmaster General, not to exceed three dollars per day * * *: 
Provided^ That the Postmaster General may, in his discretion, allow inspectors per 
diem while temporarily located at any place on business exceeding twenty consecutive 
days at any one place, and make rules and regulations governing the foregoing provi- 
sions relating to per diem: And provided further, That no per diem shall be paid to 
inspectors receiving annual salaries of two thousand dollars or more, except the twenty- 
six inspectors receiving two thousand one hundred dollars each (p. 1328). 

For per diem allowance of assistant superintendents while actually traveling on offi- 
cial business away from their home, their official domicile, and their headquarters, at a 
rate to be fixed by the Postmaster General, not to exceed three dollars per day (p. 1336). 

Revised Statutes, section 4017, provides: 

The Postmaster General may employ two special agents for the Pacific coast,fand 
such number of other special agents as the good of the service and the safety of the 
mails may require. Such agents shall be entitled to a salary at the rate of not more 
than one thousand six hundred dollars a year each, and shall be allowed traveling and 
incidental expenses while actually employed in the service a sum not exceeding five 
dollars a day. 

The act of June 17, 1878 (20- Stat., 140), provides: 

That hereafter the per diem pay of all special agents appointed under section,4017, 
Revised Statutes, shall only be allowed for their actual and necessary expenses not 
exceeding five dollars per diem when they are actually engaged in traveling on the 
business of the department, except such, not exceeding ten in number, as are ap- 
pointed by the Postmaster General to duty at such important points as he may desig- 
nate, and nine Assistant Superintendents of Railway Mail Service, who may be detailed 
to act as superintendents of division of Railway Mail Service, who shall receive a salary 
of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum, and no more. 

The act of June 11, 1880 (21 Stat., 177), provides: 

For mail depredations and post-office inspectors * * * and the Superintendent 
of the Railway Mail Service and the chief of post-office inspectors shall be paid for 
their actual expenses while traveling on business of the department; and section 4017 
of the Revised Statutes is hereby so amended as to insert in lieu of the words "special 
agents" and the word "agents" wherever they occur in said section the words "post- 
office inspectors." 

The act of March 1, 1881 (21 Stat., 374), provides: 

Hereafter the chief of post-office inspectors shall be paid actual expenses] while trav- 
eling on the business of the department. 

The act of July 5, 1884 (23 Stat,, 156), provides: 

Post-office inspectors shall be allowed four dollars per day, in lieu of the charges now 
permitted, for personal expenses. 

The act of March 3, 1885 (23 Stat., 385), provides: 

For mail depredations and post-office inspectors * * * and post-office inspectors 
shall be allowed four dollars per day, in lieu of the charges now permitted, for personal 
expenses. 

The act of March 3, 1901 (31 Stat., 1107), provides: 

For per diem allowance of inspectors in the field while actually traveling on business 
for the department, five hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

Provided, That the Postmaster General may, in his discretion, allow post-office 
inspectors per diem while temporarily located at any place on duty away from their 
home, or their designated domicile, for a period not exceeding twenty consecutive 
days at any one place, and may make rules and regul ations governing the foregoing pro- 
visions relating to per diem. 



486 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The act of March 2, 1907 (34 Stat., 1205), provides: 

For per diem allowance of inspectors in the field while actually traveling on official 
business away from their home, their official domicile, and their headquarters, at a 
rate to be fixed by the Postmaster General, not to exceed four dollars per day. * * * 
Provided, That the Postmaster General may, in his discretion, allow inspectors per 
diem while temporarily located at any place on business away from their home, or 
their designated domicile, for a period not exceeding twenty consecutive days at any 
one place, and make rules and regulations governing the foregoing provisions relating 
to per diem. 

4. Department of Commerce and Labor. — The act of March 4, 1911 
(36 Stat., 1227), provides: 

For compensation and per diem to be fixed by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor 
of special attorneys, special examiners, and special agents, * * * the per diem to 
be * * * in lieu of subsistence at a rate not exceeding four dollars per day to 
each of said special attorneys, special examiners, and special agents, and also of other 
officers and employees in the Bureau of Corporations while absent from their homes 
on duty, outside of the District of Columbia * * *. 

For per diem in lieu of subsistence of special agents and employees (Bureau of Labor, 
Department of Commerce and Labor) while traveling on duty away from their homes 
and outside of the District of Columbia, at a rate not to exceed three dollars a day. 

The act of March 4, 1911 (36 Stat., 1432), provides for commutation 
to officers of the field force of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor: 

While on field duty, at a rate not to exceed two dollars and fifty cents per day each. 

The act of March 3, 1899, as amended by section 10 of an act of 
March 6, 1902 (32 Stat,, 53), provides: 

That the special agents appointed under the provisions of this act * * * shall 
receive compensation at rates to be fixed by the Director of the Census: Provided, 
That the same shall in no case exceed six dollars per day and actual necessary travel- 
ing expenses and an allowance in lieu of subsistence not exceeding three dollars a day 
during their necessary absence from their usual place of residence. * * * And 
provided further, That the Director of the Census is hereby authorized, in his discretion, 
to employ the clerical force of the Census Office for such field work as may be required 
* * * and such employees when so employed shall be allowed in addition to their 
regular compensation actual necessary traveling expenses and an allowance in lieu 
of subsistence not exceeding three dollars per day during their necessary absence 
from the Census Office. 

The act of July 2, 1909, section 18 (36 Stat., 7), provides: 

That special agents may be appointed by the Director of the Census * * * and 
shall receive compensation at rates to be fixed by the Director of the Census: Pro- 
vided, That the same shall in no case exceed six dollars a day and an allowance in lieu 
of subsistence not exceeding three dollars a day during necessary absence from their 
place of residence. 

The act of May 14, 1908 (35 Stat., 163), provides: 

That every lighthouse keeper and assistant lighthouse keeper in the Lighthouse 
Establishment of the United States shall be entitled to receive one ration per day or, 
in the discretion of the Lighthouse Board, commutation therefor at the rate of thirty 
cents per ration. 

5. Treasury Department.— The act of March 3, 1885 (23 Stat., 404), 
provides : 

* * * Internal revenue agents * * * for per diem in lieu of subsistence, 
while traveling on duty, said agents shall receive at a rate to be fixed by the Secretary 
of the Treasury, not exceeding three dollars per day. 

The act of February 3, 1905 (33 Stat., 652), provides: 

* * * Internal revenue agents assigned to the duty of examining the accounts 
of collectors of internal revenue shall receive for per diem in lieu of subsistence, when 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 487 

absent from their legal residence on duty, a sum to be fixed by the Commissioner of 
Internal Revenue, approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, not to exceed four 
dollars . 

The act of March 26, 1908 (35 Stat.. 46). provides: 

That every keeper of a life-saving station and every surfman in the Life-Saving 
Service of the United States shall be entitled to receive one ration per day, or. in the 

discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, commutation thereof at the rate of thirty 
cents per ration. 

III. Miscellaneous allowances in the nature of travel allowances. 

1. War Department. — The household goods and personal effects of 
officers and enlisted men of the Army are packed, crated, and trans- 
ported on change of station at the expense of the United States, the 
authority for such transportation being found in the annual appro- 
priation act for the transportation of the Army and its supplies, and 
that for the fiscal year 1912 being in 36 Statutes. 1050. which reads 
as follows : 

For the transportation of the Army and its supplies, including transportation of 
the troops when moving either by land or water, and for their baggage, including the 
cost of packing and crating, * * *. 

2. Navy Department. — Revised Statutes, section 1612, provides: 

The officers of the Marine Corps shall be entitled to receive the same pay or emolu- 
ment as is or may be provided by or in pursuance of law for the officers of like grades in 
the Infantry of the Army. 

3. Department of the Treasury.— The law of April 12, 1902 (32 Stat., 
100), provides for the commissioned officers of the Revenue-Cutter 
Service : 

The same pay and allowances, except forage, that are now or may hereafter be pro- 
vided by law for officers of corresponding rank in the Army. 

-A. Department of Agriculture. — An act of March 4. 1911 (36 Stat., 
1265), provides: 

That hereafter officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture transported 
from one official station to another for permanent duty, when authorized by the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture, may be allowed actual traveling expenses, including charges for 
the transfer of then- effects and personal property used in official work, under such 
rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture. 

IV. Limits imposed by law upon traveling expenses. 



1. Post Office Department.— An act of March 4. 1911 (36 Stat., 
1327), appropriates for travel and miscellaneous expenses, in the case 
of the office of the Postmaster General, the office of the First Assistant 
Postmaster General, the office of the Third Assistant Postmaster 
General, and the office of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, 
the sum of $1,000 (pp. 1329, 1333, 1337, 1338, 1339). 

The same act (p. 1336) provides: 

That hereafter in addition to the salaries by law provided the Postmaster General is 
hereby authorized to make travel allowances, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum 
annually appropriated, to railway postal clerks assigned to duty in railway post office 
cars for actual expenses incurred by them while on duty, after ten hours from the time 
beginning their initial run. under such regulations as he may prescribe, and in no case 
shall such allowance exceed one dollar per day. 



488 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

2. Department of Justice. — Section 12 of the act of May 28, 1896 
(29 Stat,, 1S3), provides for actual traveling expenses of marshals, 
lodging and subsistence, not to exceed $4 a day. 

Section S of the same act provides for actual traveling expenses of 
district attorneys and assistants, with a limit of $4 a day on lodging 
and subsistence. 

The act of February 19, 1909 (35 Stat., 640), allows office deputy 
marshals actual expenses for lodging and subsistence not to exceed 
S3 a day. 

3. Judges of courts. —The act of March 4, 1911 (36 Stat., 1427), 
provides for : 

Reasonable expenses actually incurred for travel and maintenance of circuit and 
district judges of the United States and judges of the district courts of the United States 
in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico, consequent upon their attending court or transact- 
ing their official business at any place other than their official place of business, not to 
exceed ten dollars a day. 

4. Interstate Commerce Commission. — An act of March 4, 1911 (36 
Stat., 1397), provides for inspectors and employees of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission under act of February 17, 1911 (36 Stat., 913) : 

To promote safety of employees, and so forth, and travelers upon railroads by com- 
pelling common carriers engaged in interstate commerce to equip their locomotives 
with safe and suitable boilers and appurtenances thereto; 

For the payment of all authorized officers * * * including * * * allowance 
in lieu of subsistence while away from their official headquarters to persons whose 
traveling expenses are authorized by this act to be paid and not to exceed four dollars 
a day. 

Exhibit 2 E. 

DECISIONS OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY RELATING TO 
TRAVEL EXPENDITURES. 

["Pub." refers to published decisions; "MS." to manuscript decisions.] 

1 . Reimbursement of traveling expenses by mileage allowance or other- 
wise not compensation. 

An officer of theKevenue-Cutter Service who, while on leave of absence 
traveled from Seattle, via San Francisco and New York, to Wash- 
ington, and who was subsequently detached from his vessel at 
Seattle and directed to report to the Secretary of the Interior for 
duty, is not entitled to reimbursement of the expenses incurred in 
the performance of such travel, the travel not having been per- 
formed on public business or under orders, notwithstanding that his 
employment by the Interior Department had been previously con- 
templated and that his account for such expenses was subsequently 
approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. (17 MS., 1228.) 

A mileage allowance is a commutation for traveling expenses. (1 pub., 
521; 5 id., 99.) 

Payment of traveling allowances on discharge to an enlisted man of 
the Marine Corps who at the time of his discharge was indebted for 
clothing overdrawn is not prohibited by the provision of section 
1766, Revised Statutes, that no compensation shall be paid to any 
person who is in arrears, traveling allowances on discharge not 
being in the nature of compensation. (8 pub., 624.) 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 489 

The mileage of the clerk of the United States district court for the 
district of South Dakota in going to attend court, being in the 
nature of a reimbursement for expenses and not a fee for services 
rendered, is not doubled by the provisions of the act of July 31, 
1894, and section 840, Revised Statutes, authorizing him to receive 
double fees for his services. (1 pub., 531.) 

2. Travel expenses paid only when travel lias been ordered by competent 

authority. 

The Director of the Mint is not authorized to travel on public busi- 
ness of the Treasury Department without the order or authoriza- 
tion of the Secretary of the Treasury. (7 pub., 178.) 

To entitle an officer of the Navy to mileage under the act of March 3, 
1835, the travel must have been performed under orders issued by 
competent authority. (1 pub., 381.) 

An officer of the Navy who performed travel which was not required 
by his orders is not entitled to mileage therefor under orders sub- 
sequently issued. (15 MS., 72.) 

An officer of the Navy who was granted a leave of absence to enable 
him to return to his home before receiving his discharge, but who 
received no orders for travel, is not entitled to mileage therefor. 
(6 MS., 477.) 

The law and regulations requiring a specific order prior to the com- 
mencement of the journey must be strictly complied with, and the 
officer must make the journey within a reasonable time, in accord- 
ance with the order, to acquire a right to mileage. (4 pub., 175.) 

Under the provision in section 420, Revised Statutes, relating to the 
bureaus of the Navy Department, that "all of the duties of the 
bureau shall be performed under the authority of the Secretary of 
the Navy, and their orders shall be considered as emanating from 
him and shall have full force and effect as such," an order of the 
Navy issued by the Bureau of Navigation, under authority of the 
Navy, directing an officer to perform a journey, is sufficient author- 
ity for him to perform the travel and to entitle him to mileage 
therefor, without the approval of the Secretary. (9 pub., 351.) 

A civilian employee of the Navy Department is entitled, for travel 
under orders, to reimbursement of his actual necessary expenses 
incurred en route during his detention in quarantine, provided that 
during his detention he is in condition and readiness for service. 

A civilian employee of the Navy Department is not entitled, for travel 
under orders, to reimbursement of his actual necessary expenses 
incurred en route during his detention, not being incident to the 
service. 

The ratification of the Navy Department of travel performed by a 
civilian employee not strictly in obedience to orders has the same 
effect as the issuance of prior orders to him directing the perform- 
ance of the travel, and entitles him to reimbursement of his actual 
necessary expenses. (12 pub., 476.) 

An officer of the Army is not entitled to mileage for travel unless the 
travel is performed under an order or its equivalent, issued by com- 
petent authority, or unless the action of the officer in performing 
the travel is subsequently ratified. (13 MS., 426; 14 id., 877; 16 
id., 1344; 17 id., 9962.) 



490 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

3. Travel expenses of a person not yet appointed by the Government may 

not be paid. 

The power of appointment to the office of regular assistant district 
attorney is vested by law in the Attorney General, and until he 
actually appoints a person to said office such person is not entitled 
to reimbursement by the United States of traveling expenses 
incurred while assuming to act as an assistant district attorney, 
notwithstanding the travel was performed upon the request of the 
district attorney. (15 pub., 630.) 

A paymaster's clerk in the Navy is not entitled to traveling expenses 
in going to his vessel before accepting appointment and taking the 
oath of office. (6 pub., 178.) 

Where a paymaster's clerk in the Navy had accepted his appointment 
and taken the oath of office, he was entitled to traveling expenses 
in going to his vessel, notwithstanding he had not passed the 
physical examination at the time such expenses were incurred. (10 
pub., 513.) 

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to enter into an agreement 
to pay the traveling expenses to be incurred by a person not in the 
employment of the Government from his place of residence to New 
York City for consultation with an officer of the department for 
the purpose of determining the advisability of employing him 
therein. (13 MS., 1029.) 

4. Travel expenses payable only for travel on public business. 

Mileage is a form of reimbursement for money expended by an officer 
in the Government service, and public business is the foundation on 
which mileage rests. (2 pub., 410.) 

The expenses incurred by civil officers and employees in traveling 
upon public business by order of a head of department are an inci- 
dent to the object in connection with which the travel is performed, 
and in the absence of other provisions of law they are entitled 
to be reimbursed therefor from the appropriation for that object. 
(4 pub., 475.) 

An officer whose office is at the seat of government is entitled to 
reimbursement for the traveling expenses only when he is absent 
therefrom on official business, and if, when absent on a vacation, 
his official duties require his presence in Washington, to travel 
from the place where he happens to be to Washington and return, 
is not travel upon official business. (3 pub., 170.) 

A musician in the band, United States Marine Corps, is not entitled 
to travel pay on a discharge given at his own request for his own 
convenience. (3 pub., 640.) 

An officer who travels on private business from Austin, Tex., to 
Charlottesville, Va., and is then assigned to duty at Washington 
and not required to return to his station at Austin, is not entitled 
to be reimbursed for his expenses from Austin to Charlottesville, 
notwithstanding the fact that he would within a short time have 
been assigned to duty at Washington and entitled to his expenses 
in traveling from Austin to Washington. (1 pub., 479.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 491 

A district attorney in attendance upon a court held at a place other 
than that of his abode went to his home on Saturday and returned 
on Monday to the same place to attend a hearing before a commis- 
sioner. The court still being in session, he attended and charged 
a per diem for Monday. Held: That mileage for travel from his 
home to attend the hearing before the commissioner can not, 
under the circumstances, be allowed as travel "actually and neces- 
sarily performed/' as required by act of February 22, 1875. (1 
pub., 555.) 

Under the provision that district attorneys shall be allowed necessary 
expenses for lodging and subsistence and actual and necessary 
traveling expenses while necessarily absent from their official 
residences, on official business, a district attorney who, while on an 
official journey, stopped at a place for his own convenience, and 
was taken sick there, is not entitled to reimbursement for lodging 
and subsistence during such sickness. (6 MS., 788.) 

5. Travel expenses from the home of an officer to his official headquarters 

or station are not ordinarily payable. 

Travel by an officer from his personal residence to his official station 
is not travel upon public business or duty. (6 pub., 170.) 

The official station of an officer or employee is the place where it 
is his duty to be, except when his duties require his temporary 
absence therefrom. (5 pub., 592.) 

A deputy consul general is a "consular" officer within the meaning of 
the term "diplomatic and consular officers" as used in the act of 
June 30, 1906, and is entitled to mileage as provided by that act 
for travel performed in going to the place to which he was appointed. 
(13 pub., 357.) 

A clerk for the fisheries steamer Albatross is entitled to travel expenses 
from the place of his appointment and entry upon duty in connec- 
tion with the steamer to the place of his reporting for duty on 
board the steamer. (12 pub., 658.) 

6. The payment of traveling expenses of persons changing stations is 

dependent upon the character of the office or employment. 

An employee appointed or employed while in Washington, D. C, as a 
stenographer and typewriter at Portland, Me., is not entitled to 
traveling expenses for proceeding to his place of service, the con- 
tract with him not having provided therefor. (5 pub., 179; 6 MS., 
1059; 1 id., 622, 738; 15 id., 116, 716; 16 id., 279; 17 id., 723; 
21 id., 542.) 

A transfer of a clerk from one land office to another is in effect a 
new appointment to a new position, and a clerk so transferred is 
not entitled to traveling expenses in going to his place of duty 
under his new appointment. (7 MS., 110.) 

The transfer of a special laborer from the department of supplies and 
accounts, navy yard, Boston, Mass., to the Bureau of Supplies and 
Accounts, Navy Department, Washington, D. C, is in effect a new 
appointment to a new place, and said employee is not entitled to 
reimbursement of his traveling expenses in going to his post under 
his new appointment. (9 pub., 751.) 



492 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Where a per diem employee of the New York Navy Yard was detailed 
to Key West, Fla., for special service in the line of his employment 
and was subsequently ordered back to New York, payment of his 
claim, approved by the Navy Department, for reimbursement of 
traveling expenses, is authorized. (10 pub., 387.) 

A second-class leading ship's draftsman at the naval station at Cavite 
who is transferred and appointed a third-class ship's draftsman at 
the navy yard at Boston, with a reduction in pay, is continuously 
in the service and entitled to reimbursement of his actual necessary 
expenses of travel incurred during transfer. (12 pub., 566.) 

A clerk who is ordered to a new station and is granted leave of absence, 
and who at the expiration of such leave proceeds to his new station, 
is entitled to traveling expenses, not to exceed the amount which 
it would have cost him to proceed directly to his new station. 
(8 pub., 189.) 

A special Indian agent not assigned to any station, who had been 
granted leave of absence and had proceeded to his home, is entitled 
to traveling expenses for travel under orders to a place designated 
upon the expiration of his leave. (8 pub., 734.) 

A person appointed to and holding two distinct employments at 
separate places is not entitled to traveling expenses for travel from 
one place to the other, in order to discharge his duties at the two 
places. (9 pub., 105.) 

A person who is appointed to an office or employment, having no 
fixed place for the performance of his duties, is entitled to travel- 
ing expenses incurred by him while traveling under orders from the 
place where he received and accepted his appointment to the place 
at which he was required to perform particular duties. (6 pub., 
672; 11 ms, 610.) 

7. Travel expenses allowed only when officer or employee is away from 

home or in the field. 

The word "home" as used in the act of March 15, 1898, which pro- 
vided for per diem in lieu of subsistence of special agents and em- 
ployees of the Department of Labor u while traveling on duty away 
from home, ,, means the usual place of abode of the agent or 
employee. (5 pub., 733.) 

An othcer who rents an apartment and lives therein with his family, 
having a table in common with them, and keeping no separate 
account of his individual expenses, is not entitled to reimbursement 
for an estimated portion of such expenses as traveling expenses. 
(8 pub., 118.) 

An Indian inspector who was assigned to duty at Muskogee, Ind. T., 
and directed to locate and establish his headquarters there, is not, 
while at such headquarters, "on duty in the field/' within the 
meaning of the provisions for traveling expenses "when actually 
employed on duty in the field" contained in the act of March 1, 
1899. (6 pub., 595.) 

Under the appropriation for mail depredations and post-office inspec- 
tors, an inspector is entitled to a per diem allowance only while in 
the field and actuallv engaged in traveling on public business. 
(5 pub., 161.) 



EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 493 

8. The Comptroller is ultimately to determine what are " necessary 

traveling expenses." 

A district attorney is usually entitled to mileage for travel of himself 
or an assistant to attend an examination before a commissioner at 
a point where another assistant lives in all cases where he deems 
such action necessary. The approval of the account by the court 
is conclusive proof of the proper exercise of Ms discretion, unless 
from facts presented to the accounting officers the necessity is 
shown not to have existed, and the travel is, under the circum- 
stances, unreasonable. (1 pub., 549.) 

Under the provisions in the act of June 7, 1900, that in cases where 
orders are given for travel by officers of the Navy "to be performed 
frequently between two or more places in the same vicinity, the 
Secretary of the Navy may, in his discretion, direct that actual 
and necessary expenses only be allowed," the places of Barberton, 
Ohio, and Cleveland, Ohio, which are 46 miles apart, having no 
peculiar relations with each other except those commercial relations 
which usually exist between places similarly situated, and the duties 
required to be performed at those places in this case having no 
connection with each other, those places can not be regarded as in 
the same vicinity within the meaning of the statute, and the Sec- 
retary of the Navy is not authorized to direct the payment of 
actual expenses, instead of mileage, for the travel so performed. 
(7 pub., 227.) 

9. But accounting officers will in large degree he governed in their deter- 

minations by the action of heads of departments. 

Under the provisions in the act of June 7, 1900, that in cases where 
orders are given for travel by officers of the Navy "to be performed 
frequently between two or more places in the same vicinity, the 
Secretary of the Navy may, in his discretion, direct that actual 
and necessary expenses only be allowed," the determination by the 
Secretary of the Navy that certain places are in the same vicinity 
is entitled to great weight, and it should not be disregarded except 
for the most cogent reasons. (7 pub., 376; 17 ms., 1436; 18 id., 
480.) 

When the head of a department approves a voucher for the traveling 
expenses of an employee at sea, containing items for wine or car- 
bonated waters used for the specific purpose of controlling sea- 
sickness and not merely as a beverage, with knowledge that the 
liquids are so used, the amount thereof must be allowed. It is for 
the head of the department to determine, within his discretion, 
whether such items are a necessary expense of travel under the 
circumstances. (1 pub., 404.) 

The question whether sleeping-car accommodations, for a short trip, 
are necessary is one for the decision of the officer having control of 
the appropriation, and is not within the jurisdiction of the account- 
ing officers. (2 pub., 198.) 

Where the Secretary of the Navy has approved an amount claimed 
as actually expended for stewards' fees by a naval officer traveling 
abroad under orders, it must be treated as conclusive, under the 
provisions of the act of August 5, 1882, it being the practice to allow 



494 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

officers of the Government reimbursement for such expenditures 
as a necessary expense of travel abroad. (3 pub., 121; 15 ms., 70.) 
The determination of the Secretary of the Navy that expenses of an 
officer of the Navy for medicines and medical attendance are in- 
curred under circumstances entitling him to reimbursement (sec. 
1586, Rev. Stat.) is conclusive. (2 pub., 241.) 

10. The decision of the head of a department may be expressed through, 

general regulations. 

The determination of the classes of expenditures to be allowed as 
traveling expenses is a proper subject for regulation by the head 
of the department, and where such regulations have been made 
they must ordinarily be regarded as controlling. (9 pub., 156.) 

The classes and items of personal expenses that may be allowed to 
officers and employees of the Navy Department and the maximum 
amount that may be approved therefor by the Navy Department 
are prosper subjects for regulation by the Secretary of the Navy, 
and such regulations should ordinarily be regarded as controlling, 
but the accounting officers of the Treasury Department are not 
bound by the approval by the Navy Department of traveling- 
expense accounts of officers and employees of that department; 
nor are they bound by the disapproval by the Navy Department of 
such accounts, except in the case of officers of the Navy traveling 
abroad under orders. 

The Secretary of the Navy may provide by regulation that civilians 
outside of the Government service who are subpoenaed as wit- 
nesses on behalf of the Government may be allowed mileage at the 
rate of 5 cents per mile and a per diem of $1.50 per day, but 
civilian employees of the United States who are subpoenaed as 
witnesses on behalf of the Government are not entitled to mileage 
or per diem, but to their regular salaries and actual and necessary 
expenses only, their rights being controlled by section 850 of the 
Revised Statutes. (14 pub., 143.) 

11. Such regulations may be waived by the authority prescribing them. 

When the Interstate Commerce Commission waives its regulation 
fixing a limit of $5 per day for the hotel expenses of its employees 
when ordered away from Washington, the accounting officers will 
allow vouchers for such an amount actually expended in excess of 
$5 as the commission may decide is proper and necessary. (4 pub., 
266.) 

The approval by the head of a department of an account, where a 
regulation has not been complied with is sufficient evidence of 
the waiver of a regulation. (4 pub., 367.) 

12. Travel must ordinarily be over shortest route, but need not be direct 

and continuous. 

An officer traveling under orders upon public business or duty is 
entitled to actual and necessary traveling expenses or mileage, as 
provided by law, for travel over the shortest usually traveled 
route only, unless the exigency of the travel necessitates the use 
of a longer route. (6 pub., 93; 20 MS., 231.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 495 

An officer of the Navy in computing his mileage for travel under 
orders will be governed as to distance by the Official Table of 
Distances, prepared by the Paymaster General of the Army and 
promulgated by the Secretary of War, although such tables had 
not been received by him at the time the travel was performed. 
(9 pub. ,749.) 

The question as to which is the " shortest usually traveled route" is 
one of fact for determination in each particular case, due con- 
sideration being given to the time required and the convenience of 
travel. (1 pub., 115.) 

When there are two or more usually traveled routes between two 
points there is no authority for computing mileage over the 
longest because of some inconvenience to the traveler in using the 
shortest route. (6 pub., 479.) 

Where the shortest route was not practicable an officer is entitled to 
mileage for travel bv the shortest route which was practicable at 
the time. (15 MS., 1 ; 21 MS., 975.) 

Under act of March 2, 1897, providing that the mileage to be paid 
to officers of the Army shall be computed over the shortest usually 
traveled routes, it will be so computed when the order directing 
the travel does not prescribe the route to be taken, although the 
transportation furnished may be over a route actually longer, if, 
in traveling by such route, the expenses of the officer are not 
thereby materially increased. (4 pub., 74.) 

A deputy marshal is not entitled, in executing a warrant of arrest, 
to mileage in excess of the distance by the usually traveled route 
from the place where the process was returned to the place of 
service. (10 pub., 806.) 

A district attorney who leaves the place of his official residence to 
attend at a fixed time upon court at another place in his district 
is entitled to reimbursement for his actual traveling expenses in 
making the direct trip, although he may leave his official residence 
before it is necessary to do so to make the continuous travel and 
stop over en route for his own convenience. (3 pub., 630.) 

13. Items included in traveling expenses. 

An officer of the Navy traveling under orders entitling him to neces- 
sary and actual traveling expenses is entitled to subsistence as a 
part of such expenses. (7 pub., 728.) 

The provision in the appropriation for the international exposition 
at Paris in 1900 that the compensation prescribed therein for the 
commissioner general, assistant commissioner general, and secre- 
tary " shall be in lieu of all personal expenses other than traveling 
expenses while engaged in exposition work," does not prohibit 
reimbursement to those officers of expenses usually incident to 
travel when away from their headquarters traveling on the business 
of the exposition. (5 pub., 474.) 

Under section 8 of the act of May 28, 1896, authorizing payment to 
a district attorney of his " necessary expenses for lodging and sub- 
sistence actually paid, not exceeding $4 per day, and actual and 
necessary traveling expenses," the expense of a berth in a sleeping 
car will be allowed as a traveling expense and not as expense for 
lodging. (3 pub., 386.) 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 32 



496 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Under the act, approved March 3, 1885, which provides for "a 
per diem in lieu of subsistence" for internal-revenue agents, an 
internal-revenue agent is entitled to reimbursement for sleeping- 
car fare paid by him while traveling on duty. (5 pub., 508.) 

Parlor-car and sleeping-car accommodations are incident to personal 
transportation, and officers of the Army traveling without troops 
during the fiscal year 1898 are entitled thereto, or to reimburse- 
ment for the cosi thereof, when authorized by the head of the 
department under whose orders they travel. (6 MS., 31, 71.) 

A post quartermaster sergeant who is retired and directed to pro- 
ceed to his home is entitled under paragraphs 133 and 1212 of 
the Army Regulations to transportation, including sleeping-car 
berth. (1 pub., 340.) 

A sergeant in the Marine Corps performing special clerical duty 
at the headquarters of the corps is not a clerk within the clause 
"for expenses of clerks of the United States Marine Corps travel- 
ing under orders," contained in the act of July 26, 1894, making 
appropriation for the naval service; neither does he come within 
the class of persons entitled to the sleeping-car berths under 
paragraph 1212 of the Army Regulations. (2 pub., 183.) 

The expense of hack hire necessarily incurred by an office deputy 
marshal while absent from his place of regular employment on 
official business in connection with the transportation of Federal 
prisoners is an actual traveling expense contemplated by the 
act of May 28, 1906, and when reasonable in amount and approved 
by the Attorney General may be paid from the appropriation 
"Salaries, fees, and expenses of marshals, United States courts.' 7 
(15 pub., 218.) 

Under the provision for "reasonable fees to porters," in the regula- 
tions of the Treasury Department relating to allowances for 
traveling expenses, no discrimination between night service and 
day service of porters on railway trains is authorized. (5 pub., 
224; 18 MS., 673.) 

An officer of the Navy traveling under orders as a passenger on a 
Navy vessel is not entitled to reimbursement for gratuities paid 
to servants. (7 pub., 237.) 

An officer of the Army is not entitled to reimbursement for fees 
to servants on a transport. (17 MS., 1527.) 

14. Officers who by law are granted mileage allowances may not receive 
actual expenses unless the law permits. 

An officer of the Army serving under the Lighthouse Establishment 
is not entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses in lieu of 
mileage for travel performed in obedience to orders in going to 
and from places inaccessible to common carriers. (12 pub., 510.) 

The word "allowance" as used in the act of April 12, 1902, which 
provides that commissioned officers of the Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice shall receive "the same pay and allowances, except forage," 
that are provided by law for officers of the Army of corresponding 
rank, includes mileage, and commissioned officers of that service 
are not entitled to traveling expenses for land travel performed 
by them since the passage of that act. (8 pub., 749.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 497 

Officers of the Navy detailed for duty in another branch of the 
public service are subject to the laws providing for mileage, 
and they are not entitled to actual traveling expenses for travel 
on such duty. (2 MS., 352.) 

15. Officers having mileage allowances who receive transportation 

must deduct its cost from their allowances. 

When an officer of the Army traveling under orders is furnished 
by the Government with a transportation ticket on a commercial 
steamer, which includes subsistence and stateroom without extra 
charge therefor, he is entitled, under the act of March 2, 1901, 
to mileage at the rate of 7 cents per mile for the journey, less a 
deduction of 3 cents per mile for the transportation furnished. 
(12 pub., 297.) 

An officer of the Army can not acquire a right to mileage by refusing 
or neglecting to avail himself of transportation which was pro- 
vided by the Government. (14 MS., 437.) 

The cost of a local ticket, of the class obtained, between points for 
which transportation in kind is furnished, should be deducted 
from the mileage allowance. (5 pub., 196; 6 id., 479.) 

16. Since the passage of the act of Congress of March 3, 1875, a per 
diem allowance in lieu of subsistence may not be granted to an officer 
whose compensation is -fixed by law, but may be granted to an employee 
whose compensation is by law to be fixed by the head of a department 
or bureau. 

The act of March 3, 1875, which provides that "only actual traveling 
expenses shall be allowed to any person holding employment or 
appointed under the United States," except as therein provided, 
prohibits an allowance as compensation which is in the nature of 
commutation of traveling expenses. (6 pub., 965; 21 MS., 768.) 

The allowance to a person "holding employment or appointment 
under the United States" of a per diem in lieu of actual traveling 
expenses is prohibited by the act of March 3, 1875. (4 pub., 9.) 

The allowance to an officer whose compensation is fixed by law of a 
fixed sum in lieu of all expenses, exclusive of transportation and 
sleeping car fare, is not authorized by law. (7 MS., 17.) 

Where the compensation of an employee is fixed by contract, pro- 
vision may be made therein for an allowance for traveling expenses 
to and from his place of service as a part of his compensation. 
(7 MS., 825.) 

In the employment of a civil engineer the Secretary of War, having 
power to fix the compensation to be paid, may also provide for the 
payment of traveling expenses to and from Washington. (1 pub., 
106.) 

The act of March 3, 1875, refers to actual traveling expenses, and does 
not prohibit the head of a department, having discretion to con- 
tract for the services of an employee, from agreeing with such 
employee upon an amount to include compensation and all 
expenses. So, also, may the contract be for a fixed sum as com- 



498 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

pensation and an amount per day as additional compensation when 
absent from headquarters. (5 pub., 105; id., 424; and 5 id., 658.) 
The members of a commission, composed of members of the National 
Academy of Sciences and appointed by the president thereof, while 
engaged in preparing for the academy a report on forested lands at 
the request and for the assistance of the Secretary of the Interior 
under the authority of the act of June 11, 1896, are not ' molding 
employment or appointment under the United States within the 
meaning of the act of June 16, 1874, limiting persons so situated 
to actual traveling expenses." (3 pub., 6.) 

17. Items included in per diem allowances in lieu of subsistence. 

The words "exclusive of subsistence," when used in connection with 
traveling expenses, are held to exclude all hotel expenses, rooms, 
and lodgings as well as meals, unless the language in the appoint- 
ment or orders or the circumstances in the case are such as to 
indicate that the word "subsistence" is used in its more limited 
sense. (2 pub., 497.) 

Detention by sickness of an internal-revenue gauger while traveling 
is not an incident of the travel performed by him, and he is not 
entitled to reimbursement for board while so detained. (8 pub., 
278.) 

An internal-revenue agent while temporarily detailed for duty in 
Washington as acting chief of internal-revenue agents is "absent 
from home while traveling on duty" within the meaning of the act 
of March 3, 1885, and the regulations, and is entitled to a per diem 
allowance in lieu of subsistence, although the chief of internal- 
revenue agents while permanently detailed for duty in Washington 
is not entitled to such allowance. (3 pub., 583.) 

An office deputy marshal is not entitled to reimbursement for the 
expense of laundry as a traveling expense, neither can he be reim- 
bursed for the cost of laundry as an incident to lodging and sub- 
sistence in the absence of a regulation to that effect by the Attorney 
General. (15 pub., 539.) 

An officer of the Navy is entitled to reimbursement of quarantine 
charges as a part of his traveling expenses when actually and neces- 
sarily paid by him while traveling under orders outside of the limits 
of the United States. (13 pub., 369.) 

18. Baggage and household effects. 

A clerk in the medical department at large, War Department, is 
embraced within the term "troops" as used in the provision in the 
act of May 11, 1908, for "transportation of the troops * * * 
and of their baggage, including the cost of packing and crating," 
and is entitled upon change of station to have his baggage or house- 
hold goods packed and crated at the expense of the United States. 
(16 pub., 173.) 

An officer of the Marine Corps ordered from one shore station to 
another shore station is "changing stations," and is entitled to 
transportation of baggage. (1 pub., 424.) 

An officer of the Navy is not entitled to reimbursement for expenses 
incurred by him in transporting his baggage on change of stations, 
there being no provision of law therefor. (6 pub., 317; 21 MS., 
400.) 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 499 

19. Verification of expense accounts. 

Under paragraph 3 of Treasury Department Circular Xo. 52, of 1907, 
the expense accounts of the civilian officers, employees, and agents 
of the Government are required to be verified by affidavit regard- 
less of the amount thereof and regardless of whether all the expendi- 
tures therein are supported by subvouchers or not. 

Accounts for per diems in lieu of subsistence of civilian officers, 
employees, and agents of the Government are not required to be 
verified by affidavits. (15 pub., 20.) 

The Secretary of the Treasury is the only officer of the Government 
who has authority to waive or revoke the requirement of paragraph 
3 of Treasury Department Circular Xo. 52 of 1907, which provides 
that expense accounts of civilian officers, employees, and agents of 
the Government shall be verified by affidavit, and without such a 
waiver the accounting officers must enforce said regulations where 
the vouchers are not verified by affidavit, but are supported by an 
attached statement of claimant in each case that there was no 
notary public within a reasonable distance. (13 pub., 323.) 

The forms for rendering expense accounts, prescribed by the Comp- 
troller of the Treasury under the direction of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, by authority of the act of July 31, 1894, require the 
officers, agents, and employees of the Post Office Department to 
verify under oath their expense accounts, except those coming 
under the postal revenues, and the Postmaster General is not 
authorized by law to disregard such requirement. (11 Comp. 
Dec, 812, distinguished.) (14 pub., 13.) 

An account of a night watchman for expenses incurred while traveling 
on public business, being for 28 days, at $2 per day, estimated, not 
supported by evidence of expenses actually incurred and none being 
obtainable, he having since died, may be paid on the certificate of 
the disbursing officer that to the best of his knowledge and belief 
the amount of $2 per day was actually expended therefor. (1 2 MS., 
753.) 

As there is no provision of law requiring vouchers for traveling 
expenses to be verified by affidavit the Isthmian Canal Commis- 
sion is authorized to determine for itself what evidence it will 
require- as to the correctness of such vouchers presented by its 
employees. Affidavits to vouchers for such traveling expenses 
will not be required by the accounting officers of the Treasury. 
(11 pub., 812.) 

An inspector of hulls in the Steamboat-Inspection Service is entitled 
to reimbursement of notary public fees paid by him in verifying 
his traveling expense account, as required by the act of March 3, 
1905, which provided that such accounts should be certified and 
sworn to by the inspector. (12 pub., 285.) 

Exhibit No. 3 E. 

DRAFT OF REGULATIONS IN RELATION TO TRAVEL BY GOVERNMENT 

EMPLOYEES. 

Travel authority. 

It is hereby ordered that all travel required in the transaction of 

the business of the Department of , its bureaus and offices, 

shall hereafter be authorized or approved by an order in writing which 



500 REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

shall specify the duty assigned and the travel to be performed as 
specifically as circumstances will permit. This order shall be signed by 

the Secretary of or the chief of the bureau or office or other 

officer under whose supervision and direction the travel is performed 
and to whom such authority has been delegated. In the absence of 
such authority no claim for reimbursement of traveling expenses will 
be allowed, except in cases of actual and extreme emergency. 

A letter of authorization for travel must designate the official 
station and temporary headquarters of the employee, if temporary 
headquarters are to be assigned. Unless temporary headquarters are 
mentioned in the letter of authorization, the employee will not be 
considered as having any headquarters. The matter of selecting 
official stations when not provided in an act of Congress, a depart- 
mental regulation, a commission of appointment, or a contract of 
employment and assigning temporary headquarters is placed in the 
control of the chiefs of bureaus and independent divisions subject to 
the approval of the Secretary, and each chief is expected to select 
official stations and assign temporary headquarters with justice and 
equity to employees and in accordance with the best interests of the 
service. 

Travel expenses defined. 

Except where otherwise provided by law, the expenses of all per- 
sons, when traveling on official business for or on account of the 

Department of , or any of the bureaus or offices connected 

therewith, shall be confined to " actual and necessary" expenses 
usual and essential to the ordinary comfort of travelers. 

All travel performed upon department business must be by the 
shortest practicable route, unless otherwise authorized, and without 
any unusual or unnecessary delay. The route should be carefully 
arranged to avoid unnecessary duplication of travel. 

What travel expenses may be allowed. 

1. Railroad and steamer fares. — Fares upon railroads, stage coaches, 
steamers, packets, or other usual modes of conveyance; charges for 
fares on steamers, packets, or other means of travel by water must 
show whether or not meals are included. 

Through tickets, excursion tickets, and round-trip tickets must be 
purchased whenever practicable. When there is a difference between 
the fares paid on two occasions during the same detail for journeys 
between the same points by the same railroad, steamer, or stage route, 
either going or coming, an explanation of the larger amount charged 
in the account must be given. 

Mileage books may be procured, when in the interest of the Gov- 
ernment, by exchanging transportation requests therefor, but the use 
of these books is not recommended except in connection with short 
trips within specifically described territory and where the traveler 
knows definitely that books purchased will be entirely used within 
the same fiscal year. Mileage books must not be used by the military 
branches of the Government over land-grant roads. When a mileage 
book is secured, the fact must be immediately reported to the dis- 
bursing officer, or other officer having charge of the same; the report 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON" ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 501 

must give the number of the transportation request exchanged, the 
name of the railroad issuing the book, the number of the book, and the 
number of miles contained therein, the cost of the book (together with 
the amount of the rebate, if any), and all other information necessary 
to enable the disbursing officer to keep an accurate account of the use 
of said book. Each mileage book will be charged to the employee in 
whose name it is issued; he will be held strictly accountable for its 
proper use and the correctness of the number of miles detached for 
travel between different points, and when the mileage book is exhausted 
or when no further travel is to be performed on official business with 
said book, or when the time limit of the book is about to expire the 
purchaser of said book should forward same to the disbursing officer 
without delav for settlement. An employee must make full adjust- 
ment for a mileage book as soon as practicable after same has been 
completely used. An employee in possession of a mileage book at the 
time of his separation from the department must settle his account- 
ability therefor before final payment of his salary will be made. 

2. Extra baggage. — Charges for "extra baggage" will not be allowed 
except in cases where the extra weight consists of public property, or 
private property to be used for public purposes, and must be ex- 
plained. 

3. Special conveyances. — Special conveyances, such as livery or the 
hire of a boat, when no public or regular means of transportation are 
available. 

4. Care of horses and subsistence of driver. — Unless the contract for 
a special conveyance hired while traveling on official business includes 
feed and stabling of horses and the subsistence and lodging of driver, 
or any of these items, the sub voucher must state separately the items 
not so included. 

5. Field-party expenses. — Officials in charge of field parties may, 
when duly authorized, hire horses, and employ drivers, laborers, 
cooks, and other temporary minor assistants for service in the field, 
subject to civil-service rules when possible, during an entire field 
season. When necessary they may also purchase camp outfits, and 
subsistence supplies, vouchers to be taken therefor. Vouchers for 
subsistence supplies for camp use must show the number of persons 
composing the field party for the use of which the supplies are pur- 
chased. 

6. Transfer of self and baggage. — Fares on street car, transfer coach, 
omnibus, or other vehicle, and the transfer of baggage: A charge not 
to exceed 50 cents for either transfer coach or omnibus or for the 
transfer of baggage if within the legal rate; payment in excess of this 
amount must be explained in writing. 

7. Checking and handling of baggage. — The checking and porterage 
of hand baggage at hotels and depots, not to exceed 10 cents for each 
piece of baggage. 

8. Steward fees and steamer chairs. — Customary fees to stewards 
and others on ocean, coastwise, or river steamers; usual rent of 
steamer chair. 

9. Fees in foreign countries. — The payment of customary and rea- 
sonable fees to guides, interpreters, porters, waiters, and others when 
traveling in foreign countries. 

10. Meals, lodging, laundry, service fees. — Hotel expenses (board 
and lodging, bath, and reasonable tips to waiters) when the deten- 



502 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

lion is incident to, or necessary for, the performance of the duties for 
which the travel is ordered. The use of an extra room at a hotel, 
during the daytime, when found necessary for the proper transaction 
of official business; porterage, transferring baggage to and from 
rooms at hotels, or other place of abode, not in excess of 25 cents, at 
the time of arrival or departure. Necessary meals, en route, but for 
no other items of refreshment than the ordinary food provided for 
travelers. Charges for meals must be itemized by meals in every 
instance. A subvoucher for a single meal only is not required. 

Except where otherwise provided by law, hotel expenses as above 
defined shall not be allowed in excess of $5 a day; provided, how- 
ever, that this limit may be exceeded in exceptional cases with 
the special authorization or approval of the Secretary of . 

11. Laundry. — Keasonable expenses for laundry, when the travel 
continues a week or more, not to exceed $1.25 a week. Fractional 
portions over a week to be prorated at the rate of 20 cents a day. 
Charges for laundry must include all expenses incurred for that 
item during the period for which the account is rendered and 
not brought forward from a previous account. Subvouchers must 
be obtained wdien practicable. Charges incurred for laundry at 
official headquarters at the termination of a trip will be allowed 
if the proportionate amount for the week is not exceeded. Under 
no circumstances will an employee be reimbursed for expenses 
incurred for laundry at his official headquarters. Allowance for 
laundry and waiter's fees do not apply to employees receiving a per 
diem in lieu of subsistence. 

12. Telegraph and telephone service. — Charges for telegrams must be 
accompanied by a copy of the telegram, which must be sent at Gov- 
ernment rates. Reasonable charges for telephone service will be al- 
lowed, provided that in the case of long distance telephone calls an 
itemized statement is furnished as to places where, and persons to and 
from whom such calls are sent or received. The rate charged must be 
stated. 

13. Pullman fares and stateroom accommodations. — Sleeping-car fare 
for one double berth, customary stateroom accommodations on steam- 
ers and other vessels and fare for one seat in parlor or chair car, for each 
person except those persons to whom allowance for sleeping or parlor 
cars is denied under the general regulations of the department. Where 
money is expended for parlor-car seat or berth it must be specified 
whether it was for seat or upper or lower berth. 

Pullman porter fees on sleeping cars not to exceed 25 cents per day 
for each 24 hours or fraction thereof. If one car is used for an ex- 
tended period, a fee of 25 cents will be allowed for each 24 hours or 
fraction thereof. Porter fees on parlor cars or chair cars not exceeding 
25 cents per day will be allowed. 

14. Stenographic or typewriting service. — Except when otherwise 
provided by law or duly authorized, no expense for stenographic or 
typewriting service in connection with the preparation of reports will 
be allowed an employee while traveling on official business of the 
department. 

15. Emergency expenditures. — Emergency expenditures not enu- 
merated in any of the aforementioned classes, such, for instance, as the 
employment of guides when traveling in sparsely settled regions and 
of interpreters when necessary, the payment of extra fare on limited 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 503 

trains when delay would injuriously affect the public interests, etc. 
In each case 7 however, the nature of the exigency must be clearly set 

forth in writing, and bear the approval of the Secretary of — or 

the chief of the bureau or office under whose supervision the travel is 
performed. 

Subvouchers required. — Subvouchers are required for all expendi- 
tures in excess of $1.50, except in the case of payments made for rail- 
road travel or Pullman car service. Subvouchers must invariably 
be taken for lodging, special transportation, personal services, and 
express transportation, irrespective of the amount charged. Re- 
ceipted copies of telegrams will be accepted as subvouchers for tele- 
grams sent, and must be furnished in all cases. Subvouchers for 
hotel expenses must state the beginning, the ending, and the full 
period of service, and the rate by the day or week. The "day" shall 
be considered as beginning with breakfast and, ending with lodging. 
Separate meals charged for in vouchers must be specifically named. 
Receipted bills on the regular billheads of the hotel are acceptable as 
subvouchers provided they are properly made out to show the entire 
period and services rendered. 

Livery bills must describe the vehicles hired as "one horse and 
buggy/' "two horses and wagon, ;; "with driver," giving the names 
of the places between which the travel has been performed, the dis- 
tance traveled, time employed, and rate by the day or hour. 

Subvouchers will not be required when the taking thereof would 
disclose the identity of the traveler and the disclosure would be detri- 
mental to the public interest; provided specific authority for their 

omission is granted by the Secretary of or the chief of the 

bureau or office under whose supervision the travel is performed. 

TRANSPORTATION REQUESTS USED. 

Every voucher for reimbursement of traveling expenses must show 
therein what portion, if any, of the travel is performed on transporta- 
tion requests, and what portion, if any, is performed by using mileage 
books. When a mileage book is used, the employee's account must 
show the dates of travel, the points between which the book was used, 
and the number of miles detached from said book for travel between 
the specified points. 

The use of transportation requests, when practicable, is strongly 
recommended for all travel upon department business. In case the 
agent of any railroad company refuses to accept a transportation 
request for a ticket, the fact should be reported to the bureau or office 
of the department in which the traveler is employed. Under no 
circumstances will an employee attempt to secure a refund from a 
transportation company for an unused portion of a ticket obtained 
in exchange for a transportation request; the unused portion of such 
ticket must be at once forwarded to the bureau or office of the depart- 
ment where the person is employed, with a full explanation. 

Verification of accounts. 

Hereafter in submitting accounts for traveling and other expenses 
incurred in the performance of duty, officers or employees of this 
department or any of its bureaus or offices will not be required to 



504 KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

make affidavit as to the correctness of such accounts, except when 
required by law, but shall append to every such account a certificate 
in the following language, as nearly as practicable: 

I certify upon honor that the above account is correct and just; that the detail items 
charged within are taken and verified from a memorandum kept by me; that I have 
performed the journey under the order above referred to with all practicable dispatch, 
by the route usually traveled, in the customary reasonable manner; that I have not 
boon furnished with transportation, or money in lieu thereof, for any part of the 
journey herein charged for; that any expenditures made from my own private funds 
were incident to authorized travel, or were caused by urgent public necessity while 
in the discharge of my official duties; that in all cases where properly itemized sub- 
vouchers are not attached hereto it was impracticable to secure them; and that the 
payment therefor has not been received. 

(Signature' 



(Not to be signed in duplicate.) (Title) 

Falsification of accounts. 

False or fraudulent representations in connection with the rendition 
of reimbursement and other accounts are unlawful, and the offender 
is liable to a heavy fine or imprisonment, under the act of Congress 
of March 4, 1911. (36 Stat., 1355.) 

Navy Department, 
Washington, February 1, 1912. 

My Dear Mr. President: The report of the Commission on 
Economy and Efficiency on "Travel expenditures/' referred to in 
your letter of December 27, 1911, is returned herewith. 

The commission makes six recommendations. 

The first recommendation is that all laws allowing mileage and 
transportation in excess of the amount actually paid be repealed; 
the second recommendation is that a law be passed making it the 
duty of the President to prescribe a per diem allowance in lieu of all 
traveling expenses except the cost of transportation and sleeping-car 
and parlor-car fares. 

During the fiscal year 1911, the expenditures of the Department 
of the Navy for travel on a mileage basis were approximately equal 
to the expenditures for travel on an actual expense basis, the latter 
being somewhat greater. 

The larger part — about 56 per cent — of the total expenditures for 
mileage was paid to enlisted men of the Navy and Marine Corps for 
constructive travel from the place of discharge to the place of enlist- 
ment. All of the men now in the Navy and in the Marine Corps have 
been enlisted under existing law which provides for this mileage. 
This is a valuable inducement to enlistment and reenlistment. The 
good faith of the Government is involved if this compensation to men 
now in the service is reduced. The change in law, if made, should 
affect new enlistments only. 

Only about 43 per cent of the total expenditures for mileage was 
paid to officers of the Navy and of the Marine Corps. This formed a 
comparatively small proportion — about one-fifth — of the total 
expenditures of this department for travel of all kinds. 

The greater part of the mileage paid to officers is due to actual 
change of station and habitat. The mileage received in some cases 
may exceed the actual expenses of personal transportation but seldom 
equals the total expenses to which an officer is subjected, including 
the expense of packing up, transportation of furniture, and occasion- 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 505 

ally losses on the lease of his residence. If mileage laws are to be 
repealed, some reimbursement of expenses incidental to change of 
station and habitat should be provided. If this is done, it is doubtful 
if any saving would result. 

For travel in foreign countries and for repeated travel between 
places in the same vicinity in the United States officers are now reim- 
bursed for actual expenses up to a certain limit. If the officer's 
expenses in one locality are below this limit, the Government gains 
the difference. If the expenses in another locality are greater than 
the limit the officer loses the difference. An average of the expenses, 
though within the limit, is not allowed. 

This department has a central detail office which considers requests 
for travel before submission to the Secretary, by whom they must be 
approved. By this method, the reason for the travel must be shown 
before the necessary orders are issued. 

Under the conditions existing in this department, as outlined 
above, the temptation to travel by appealing to the self interest of 
the traveler is not apparent. There is little probability that the 
amount of travel or the expenditures involved would be reduced by 
the changes proposed by the commission. 

The advantages of a mileage basis in a military organization are 
the facility with which orders may be executed promptly on short 
notice, its simplicity, economy of accounting, and promp.t reimburse- 
ment without vouchers or certificates of expenditures, other than 
that the travel has been performed. 

A change from mileage to actual expense basis was tried some 
years ago, as cited in the report of the commission. The experience 
with the change was not favorable and a mileage law was reenacted. 

The department is constrained to report that it does not concur 
with the commission in its first and second recommendations. 

The third recommendation of the commission is that existing law 
be so changed that every account for reimbursement of traveling 
expenses shall be certified as to its correctness by the person by whom 
the travel is performed, and that no verification by affidavit shall be 
required. The department concurs in this recommendation. 

The fourth recommendation of the commission is that uniform 
regulations governing travel expenditures be adopted by all execu- 
tive departments and other Government establishments until legis- 
lation can be obtained amending existing law on the subject. 

The proposed regulations submitted by the commission in Exhibit 
3 E are not approved in their present form. The} 7 require substantiat- 
ing vouchers in certain cases which are not required now and which 
are not desirable, and they would unnecessarily complicate account- 
ing. Their adoption would result in loss to officers of the higher 
ranks. 

Uniformity is desirable, however, and it is recommended that the 
proposed regulations be further considered in detail by the commis- 
sion and representatives of the departments affected. After such 
conference, a revised draft of the proposed regulations should be 
submitted to the various departments for consideration before being 
promulgated. 

The last two recommendations of the commission are that the 
President direct that inquiries be made on the subjects of obtaining 
interchangeable mileage books for the official use of any Government 



506 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

official or employee, and securing special discounts or special rates 
by hotels for the entertainment of officers and employees of the 
Government traveling on official business. 

This department concurs in the commission's recommendations on 
these two subjects. Should the result of these inquiries indicate 
that economies can be realized, the detailed regulations on these sub- 
jects should be submitted to the departments affected for considera- 
tion before being promulgated. There would be strong objections, 
for instance, to reimbursement for hotel expenses being dependent 
on patronizing a certain hotel, regardless of its character. 
Faithfully yours, 

G. v. L. Meyer. 
The President, 

The White House. 



War Department, 

Washington, January 30, 1912. 

Sir: I have the honor to hand you herewith the report of the War 
Department Board on Business Methods concerning the report of the 
Commission on Economy and Efficiency, dated December, 1911, on 
the subject of travel expenditures. 

The board states that it does not concur in the recommendation of 
the commission that only actual traveling expenses shall be allowed 
persons holding employment in Government establishments, and 
gives in detail its reasons for its opinion. 

The board finds support for its conclusion in the statistics gathered 
in 1874 and 1875 when the system of " actual expenses" was given a 
trial, in the opinion of the Paymaster General of the Army at the time 
this trial was made, and in the opinion of the present Paymaster 
General of the Army. 

The board concurs in all other recommendations of the commission 
except as they may be slightly modified by its nonconcurrence in the 
recommendation to substitute actual expenses for mileage. 

The board has invited attention to the fact that "with the excep- 
tion of paymasters' clerks and the expert accountant of the Inspector 
General's Department, all civilian employees of the War Department 
are now paid actual expenses in travel," but makes no recommenda- 
tion concerning the advisability of continuing to pay " actual expen- 
ses" to such civilian employees. I have brought this to the atten- 
tion of the board and have called upon it for a report in the matter. 
This report will be forwarded to you at an early date. 
Very respectfully, 

H. L. Stimson, 
Secretary of War. 

The President, 

The White House. 



Report No. 17. 

War Department, 
Washington, January 19, 1912. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: The report to the President on traveling expenditures, sub- 
mitted by the Commission on Economy and Efficiency in December, 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 507 

1911, has been referred to this board for report and recommendation. 
The recommendations of the commission are: 

First. The passage of a law similar to the act of June 16, 1874, to provide that only 
actual traveling expenses shall be allowed to any person holding employment or 
appointment in or under any executive department or other Government establish- 
ment, and repealing all laws allowing mileage and transportation to such person in 
excess of the amount actually paid. 

With respect to this recommendation the board submits the fol- 
lowing: With the exception of paymaster's clerks and the expert 
accountant of the Inspector General's Department, all civilian em- 
ployees of the War Department are now paid "actual expenses" in 
travel. Commissioned officers of the Army are paid "mileage." 

The proposition to substitute ' ' actual expenses " in lieu of "mileage" 
is not new. The act of June 16, 1874, provided for payment of "actual 
expenses." After a little over two years' trial this act was repealed 
b} T the act of July 24, 1876, and the system of "mileage" was reestab- 
lished. During this period, approximately $160,000 a year was dis- 
bursed for "actual expenses." For the first fiscal year subsequent to 
the act of July 24, 1876, which reestablished the "mileage" system, 
there was disbursed for "mileage" $176,896.38. The rate of "mile- 
age" under the law of 1876 was 8 cents a mile. If it had been 7 cents 
a mile, which is now the rate authorized by law, the disbursements 
would have amounted to $154,784.34, or about $5,000 less than under 
"actual expenses." 

Under the present "mileage" system, two clerks in the Pa^onaster 
General's Office are able to do all the administrative work incident to 
the payment of travel allowances. In the opinion of the Paymaster 
General, the "actual-expense" system would increase the work to an 
extent requiring the services of from five to seven clerks, and it is 
thought that the same condition would obtain in the office of the 
Auditor for the War Department. 

When this matter was under consideration in 1875, Gen. Alvord, 
then Paymaster General of the Army, used the following language, 
which is as true to-day as it was then, to wit: 

The allowance and payment of mileage to officers of the Army is so hedged about 
that there can be and were no abuses of it which are not inseparable from any allowance 
based upon orders issued at the discretion of men. * * * The experience of officers 
will sustain the statement that on the average of the whole period of service it is no 
more than a reimbursement of actual expenses and is uniform in its operations upon 
all. 

Attention is invited, in this connection, to the inclosed memo- 
randum of the Paymaster General of the Army of January 17, 1912. 

This board does not recommend a change from the "mileage" 
system to the "actual-expense" system for officers of the Army. 

Second. The passage of a law making it the duty of the President to prescribe a per 
diem allowance for each officer or employee, or each class of officers or employees in or 
under an executive department or other Government establishment (including officers 
and employees of the courts of the United States, excepting judges) when engaged in 
travel on official business, "and to vary any per diem from time to time; and that the 
per diem when so prescribed shall be in lieu of all traveling expenses except the cost of 
transportation and sleeping-car and parlor-car fares. 

The board approves the adoption of this recommendation with 
reference to those officers and employees who are reimbursed for 
travel by the "actual-expense" system. 

Third. The passage of a law providing that every account for reimbursement of 
traveling expenses shall be certified as to its correctness by the person by whom the 



508 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

travel is performed and that no verification by affidavit shall be required, and that all 
laws requiring such verification be repealed. 

The board approves the adoption of this recommendation. 

The above recommendations of the commission require a change in 
the law. 

The following recommendations do not require a change in the law, 
and, in the opinion of the commission, should be put into effect until 
the necessary legislation can be had: 

First. The adoption by executive departments and other Government establish- 
ments of regulations which shall be uniform so far as the needs of the respective ser- 
vices permit; and in order to secure uniformity that the President request each of such 
departments and establishments to adopt the paragraph set forth in Exhibit 3 E as its 
regulations on the subject covered thereby. 

This exhibit prescribes a form of order for travel and items of 
authorized expenditure constituting "actual expenses/' and for that 
class of travel appears to be reasonable, and the board recommends 
its approval so far as applicable to the civil employees of the War 
Department. 

Second. In order that the officers and employees of the Government may have for 
use the form of mileage book most nearly adapted to the needs of the Government, 
that the President direct that an effort be made to obtain from the various railroad 
companies the issue of an interchangeable mileage book at a fixed rate per mile for 
the official use of any Government officer or employee, and that such book be accepted 
on all railroads in the United States; or that books at different rates be issued, each 
to be accepted on all railroads within a certain territory. 

In connection with the effort to arrange for uniform mileage books, consideration 
should be given to the desirability of making available for all Government employees 
the special rates for one or more persons now granted to certain departments. 

The board recommends the approval of this recommendation. 

Third. That the President direct that an inquiry be made through the General 
Supply Committee or other proper agency as to the advisability of securing such 
special discounts or special rates as may be offered by hotels for the entertainment 
of officers and employees of the Government traveling on official business. 

The board recommends the approval of this recommendation so far 
as it relates to the class traveling under the " actual expense" system. 

F. L. AlNSWORTH, 

The Adjutant General, President. 
E. A. Garlington, 
Inspector General, Brigadier General, U. S. Army, Member. 
W. W. Wotherspoon (absent), 
Brigadier General, U. S. Army, Member. 
John C. Scofield, 
Assistant and Chief Cleric, War Department, Member. 

Matthew E. Hanna, 

Captain, General Staff, Member and Recorder. 



[Memorandum: Having reference to the advisability of amending the existing laws with respect to the 
payment of allowances for travel so as to discontinue the mileage allowance and substitute therefor a 
system of actual expenses.] 

War Department, 
Office of the Paymaster General, 

Washington, January 17, 1912. 
At the present time the pay department makes payment of mile- 
age in three separate and distinct classes of cases, each of which is 
governed by a different law, but in preparing the estimates for pay 



EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 509 

of the Army for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1912, this office, 
by authority of the Secretary of War, inserted an item which, if 
enacted by Congress, will consolidate under one law the mileage dis- 
bursements which are now authorized and provided by the three dis- 
tinct laws. The multiplicity of the mileage laws greatly adds to the 
volume of correspondence and reports, and tends to complicate dis- 
bursements, and should the proposed legislation be enacted the 
matter will be simplified and result in increased efficiency and 
administrative economy. 

With respect to the advisability of abolishing the system of mileage 
and substituting therefor a system of actual expenses, I deem it 
proper to invite attention to the following extract from the report 
of the Paymaster General of the Army for the fiscal year 1875, 
wherein he states that : 

Attention is respectfully invited to the subject of reimbursement to officers of cost 
of travel under orders. 

Prior to July 1, 1874, a system of mileages prevailed, for which legislation has since 
substituted the system of "actual expenses." (See act of June 16, 1874.) 

For short journeys "actual expenses" are found, in the majority of cases, to exceed 
"mileage," for the reason that the allowances for expenses of delays incident to the 
duty ordered are large in proportion to the distance traveled. 

For long journeys the reverse is the case, for the reason that the distance traveled 
is much greater in proportion to the restricted time for which, under War Department 
rules, expenses of delays incident to duty may be charged; so that the item of charges 
for delays is not an important one in accounts for long journeys. 

In the aggregate payments on account of actual expenses fall short in amount of 
what would be the sum of mileage allowances for the same journeys. 

The pecuniary advantage to the Government, so far as concerns the Army, of a sys- 
tem of actual expenses, is believed, however, to fall short of the objections to the 
system, which may be briefly stated as follows: 

First. The labor to the officer, to the paymaster, to this office, and to the Treasury 
Department in the preparation, payment, and scrutiny of the vouchers, is a hundred- 
fold more than in the case of mileage vouchers, for the reason that each item has to be 
specially set forth and separately scrutinized. The statement of items sometimes 
covers two, and even three, pages of foolscap, whereas a mileage voucher for the same 
journey would have involved the consideration and treatment of but a single item of 
charge. 

Second. Experience of systems of actual expenses has shown that the authorities 
have invariably been obliged, sooner or later, to dispense with itemized accounts and 
arbitrarily fix a measure of actual expenses, on a basis of time or distance, which is 
practically a mileage system. This is owing to the fact that different men take diverse 
views of what constitutes actual necessary expenses, and of the moral obligation to 
conform to an order which assumes to prescribe what shall be alone regarded as items 
of such expenses. Hence, persistent effort on the part of many to obtain reimburse- 
ment of expenses not authorized in orders, and to remove certain restrictions, and in 
some cases to include unauthorized items in charges for others authorized and which 
may have exceeded in amount the actual outlay thereunder. Contingent allowances 
become subject of common charge without reference to the existence of conditions to 
which they were specially attached. Gradually the system becomes" one of such 
abuses that refuge is taken, as above stated, in mileage or a like system of a uniform 
measure of allowances. 

Third. The foregoing suggests plainly enough how unequally a system of "actual 
expenses " operates upon different men, and to what extent it tends to demoralization. 

Fourth. Mileage charges are easily computed, quickly paid, and readily scrutinized. 
A mileage allowance, therefore, forms the most convenient system of reimbursement 
of travel expenses. The experience of officers will sustain the statement that on the 
average of the whole period of service it is no more than a reimbursement of actual 
expenses, and is uniform in its operations upon all. 

Fifth. The debate upon the provision of "actual expenses " in the act making appro- 
priations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, clearly 
shows that it was based on the understanding that the charge made in the House of 
Representatives, to the effect that constructive mileage was paid to Government 
officials, applied equally to officers of the Army. I challenge the proof of a single case 



510 EEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

in which mileage has been paid to an officer of the Army for other than actual travel 
under competent orders. 

The allowance and payment of mileage to officers of the Army is so hedged about 
that 1 here can be and were no abuses of it which are not inseparable from any allowance 
based upon orders issued at the discretion of men. 

Therefore I earnestly recommend a return to the system of mileage, as better fitted 
to do justice to the officer and to the Government. 

What was said by the Paymaster General in the foregoing men- 
tioned report holds good to-day, and I concur in each of the argu- 
ments advanced by him in favor of a mileage system as against a 
system of actual expenses. The advantages of a mileage system 
have been recognized by Congress, as is indicated by the fact that 
the substitution by the act of June 16, 1874, of an actual-expense 
system in lieu of one of mileage obtained for but a little over two 
3^ears, having been repealed by the act of July 24, 1876, which reestab- 
lished a mileage system for the Army. 

During the period of about two years while the actual-expense sys- 
tem was in effect there was disbursed for actual expenses approxi- 
mately $160,000 per year. For the first full fiscal year subsequent 
to the act of July 24, 1876, which reestablished the mileage system, 
there was disbursed for mileage $176,896.38. The rate of mileage 
under this law was 8 cents a mile, but if it had been at 7 cents a mile, 
which is the rate now authorized by law, the disbursements would 
have amounted to $154,784.34, or about $5,000 less than under the 
actual-expense system. While I believe that the disbursements under 
an actual-expense system will probably be less than under a mileage 
system, I am of opinion that the difference will be very small and not to 
an amount sufficient to offset the increased labor and administrative 
complications which would obtain under an actual-expense system. 

Under the present mileage system it is possible for two clerks in 
this office to perform all of the internal administrative work incident 
to the payment of traveling allowances. This work includes the 
preparation of the Official Table of Distances, the compilation and 
recording of new distances and routes of travel and the preparation 
of amendatory distance circulars, the administrative analysis of each 
and every account involving the payment of traveling allowances 
under the head of the specific duty enjoined, the apportionment of the 
mileage funds to the four military divisions and the separate bureaus 
of the War Department, the verification of all mileage accounts as 
regards correctness of distances, and other minor work connected 
with traveling allowances. If an actual expense system were estab- 
lished the work would be increased to an extent which would require 
the services of from five to seven clerks, and it is possible that the 
same conditions would obtain in the office of the Auditor for the War 
Department. 

It is my personal belief that the present mileage system is looked 
upon with favor by officers of the Army generally, and I can unhesi- 
tatingly state that from a disbursing standpoint and one of internal 
administration it is far more economical to the Government than the 
the system of actual expenses. 

The present policy of the War Department is to reduce to the 
greatest possible extent the paper work in the Army and the inaugu- 
ration of a system of actual expenses would be in direct opposition to 
this policy. 

C. H. Whipple, 
Paymaster General, United States Army. 



reports of the commission on economy and efficiency. 511 

The White House, 

Washington, February 5, 1912. 
The Secretary of War, 

Washington, D. C. 

Sir: Your letter of January 30 to the President, inclosing report of 
the War Department Board on Business Methods, concerning the 
report of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency on the subject 
of travel expenditures has been forwarded to the commission. 

I note that the board does not concur in what it regards as the 
recommendation of the commission, namely, that only actual trav- 
eling expenses shall be allowed persons holding employment in Gov- 
ernment establishments. 

The commission fears that the board's nonconcurrence in the 
recommendation is due to a misapprehension of its purport. The 
first recommendation of the commission as to which the noncon- 
currence refers should be read in connection with the second recom- 
mendation, which has received the approval of the board and which 
reads as follows : 

Second. The passage of a law making it the duty of the President to prescribe a per 
diem allowance for each officer or employee, or each class of officer or employee, in or 
under an executive department or other Government establishment (including officers 
and employees of the courts of the United States excepting judges) when engaged in 
travel on official business, and to vary any per diem from time to time; and that the 
per diem when so prescribed shall be in lieu of traveling expenses except the cost of 
transportation and sleeping-car and parlor-car fares. 

Both these recommendations form parts of one and the same plan, 
and the result of their adoption would be the abolition of the rule of 
"actual expenses" for all traveling expenses excepting the cost 
of transportation and sleeping-car and parlor-car fares. The fear 
expressed by the board that the adoption of the actual expense sys- 
tem would increase the work both in the office of the Paymaster 
General and in that of the Auditor for the War Department, it would 
seem, is unjustified. 

If the contention of the commission is correct, the appended memo- 
randum of the Paymaster General would not be in point, since it has 
reference to a system of actual expenses with no per diem allowance 
in lieu of subsistence. 

I therefore call the matter to your attention in order that the com- 
ment of your department may, if you deem it advisable, be so modified 
as to relate to the plan outlined by the commission, which contem- 
plates carrying into effect both the first and second recommendations, 
which were intended to be inseparable. 
Yours sincerely, 

F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

War Department, 
Washington, February 14, 1912. 
Dr. F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman President's Commission 

on Economy and Efficiency, The White House. 
Sir: Referring to your letter of the 5th instant concerning the 
report of the War Department Board on Business Methods on the 
subject of travel expenditures, and requesting the board to reconsider 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 33 



512 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

the subject with a view to making new recommendations thereon, I 
have the honor to send you herewith an additional report of the board 
on this subject. 

Very respectfully, Robert Shaw Oliver, 

Assistant Secretary of War. 



Report No. 18. 

War Department, 

Washington, February 13, 1912. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir: With reference to the letter dated February 5, 1912, from 
Dr. F. A. Cleveland, chairman President's Commission on Economy 
and Efficiency, in which Dr. Cleveland says that the President's 
commission fears that the War Department board's noncurrence in 
the recommendation of the commission on the subject of travel 
expenditures is due to a misapprehension of its purport, and requests 
that the War Department board reconsider the subject with a view 
to making new recommendations thereon, the board, after careful 
consideration, has the honor to report as follows: 

When the board made its former report on this subject (see Rept. 
No. 17 of the War Department board dated Jan. 19, 1912), the board 
understood the recommendations of the commission to be: 

(a) That only actual traveling expenses shall be allowed ; 

(b) That actual traveling expenses will be divided into (1) cost of 
transportation, including sleeping car and parlor car fares, (2) sub- 
sistence and other authorized expenditures; 

(c) That cost of subsistence and other authorized expenditures will 
be covered by a per diem allowance to be prescribed by the President ; 
and 

(d) That all expenditures whether for transportation, sleeping-car 
and parlor-car fares, subsistence, or other authorized purposes would 
be accounted for by items, the majority of which would be covered 
by vouchers. (See Exhibit 3 E, of the commission's report on travel 
expenditures, Dec, 1911.) 

From Dr. Cleveland's letter of February 5, above referred to, and 
from other information obtained by telephonic interview with Dr. 
Cleveland, the board has learned that all of its original premises, are 
correct, excepting (d). A correct statement of this premise, as the 
board now understands it, is: (d) All expenditures for transporta- 
tion, including sleeping-car and parlor-car fares, will be accounted for 
by items; other expenditures will not be accounted for, but will be 
covered by a per diem allowance, and no item of expenditure will be 
accompanied by vouchers. 

The effect of tins change is to substitute for the present " mileage" 
system a system of " actual expenses" for transportation, including 
sleeping-car and parlor-car fares, with a per diem allowance to cover 
all other authorized expenditures. In practice this system would be 
practically as simple, so far as the accounting and auditing officers 
are concerned, as the present system, and would probably necessitate 
only a trifling, if any, increase in the work of the offices of the Pay- 
master General and the Auditor for the War Department, and the 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 513 

cause for objection, on this score, to the proposed system is fairly 
well eliminated. 

The effect of the proposed change would be a substitute for an allow- 
ance now called " mileage," and fixed by Congress, which covers all 
expenses connected with travel, a per diem allowance to be fixed by 
the President, which will cover but a part of the expenses incident 
to travel. The board is of the opinion that the substitution of one 
fixed allowance for another would not result in the economy evidently 
expected of it. Moreover, there is no assurance that Congress would 
look with favor upon a proposition to delegate to the President the 
power to fix an allowance which has been fixed by Congress in the past. 
So far as this board is advised, the present mileage system is giving 
satisfaction both to the auditing officers and to the officers perform- 
ing the travel. Considering that no evidence has been presented 
to show with any degree of certainty that any economy would be 
effected by the new method, that the proposed change would neces- 
sitate submitting the entire question to the consideration of Congress, 
and that, in the opinion of the board, the action of Congress in the 
matter is not likely to be favorable, the board believes that the 
probability that the final outcome would be an improvement over 
the present system is too small to warrant the change. 

In view of these opinions, the board therefore adheres to its recom- 
mendations as expressed in its report No. 17, previously forwarded to 
the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency. 
Very respectfully, 

F. L. Ainsworth, 
Major General, U. S. Army, President, 

The Adjutant General. 
E. A. Garlington, 
Brigadier General, TJ. S. Army, Member, 

The Inspector General. 
W. W. Wotherspoon (absent), 
Brigadier General, TJ. S. Army, Member. 
John C. Scofield, 
Assistant and Chief Cleric, War Dept., Member. 

Matthew E. Banna, 

Captain, General Staff Corps, 

Member and Recorder. 



War Department, 

Washington, February 24, 1912. 
The President, 

White House. 
Sir: I have the honor to send you herewith the report of the War 
Department Board on Business Methods, on the subject of traveling 
expenses, referred to in my letter of January 30, 1912. 
Very respectfully, 

Robert Shaw Oliver, 
Assistant Secretary of War. 



514 kepokts of the commission on economy and efficiency. 

Report No. 19. 

War Department, 

Washington, February 21, 1912. 
The Secretary of War. 

Sir : Complying with the instructions of the Secretary of War con- 
tained in memorandum from the office of the Chief of Staff, dated 
January 29, 1912, the War Department Board on Business Methods 
has the honor to submit the following, concerning the advisability 
of continuing to pay the civilian employees of the War Department 
''actual expenses" in lieu of "mileage" for journeys performed 
incident to the public service: 

One of the objections of the "actual expenses" system as compared 
with the "mileage" system, is the great amount of additional labor 
imposed by it upon disbursing officers of the department and also 
upon the auditor; and while the payment of "actual expenses" to 
civilians is open to objection on that score, the objection is much less 
serious tham it would be in case of payment of "actual expenses" 
to officers, as it appears that the expenditures for the travel of officers 
in 1910 was nearly three times as great as for civilian employees. 
However, it is thought that great weight should be attached to the 
following conditions which dmerentiate the travel of officers from that 
of civilian employees: Civilian employees rarely change station per- 
manently, and the travel performed by them is generally in connection 
with periodical trips of inspection or with going to and returning from 
stations where they are assigned for temporary duty. The journeys 
are frequently broken by stop-overs en route and necessitate expenses 
for subsistence out of proportion to the distance traveled. As a 
consequence, a mileage allowance in lieu of all expenses connected 
with the travel, even at the rate now prescribed for officers of the 
Army, would very often result in hardship and injustice to the em- 
ployee. The present system gives satisfaction to the employee and 
appears to be a more equitable method of covering expenses incident 
to this class of travel than would the "mileage" system. 

In view of the above, the board is of the opinion that it is prefer- 
able to retain the system of "actual expenses" to govern this class 
of travel so far as this department is concerned. 
Very respectfully, 

E. A. Garlington, 
Brigadier General, U. S. Army, Member, 

The Inspector General. 

John C. Scofield, 

Assistant and Chief Cleric , War Deft., Member. 

Mathew E. Hanna, 

Captain, General Staff Corps, 

Member and Recorder. 



APPENDIX No. 7 



MEMORANDUM OF CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THE PRINCIPLES 
THAT SHOULD GOVERN IN THE MATTER OF HANDLING 
AND FILING CORRESPONDENCE AND PREPARING AND 
MAILING COMMUNICATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH 
THE WORK OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS 
OF THE GOVERNMENT, TOGETHER WITH 
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF LABOR- 
SAVING DEVICES IN PREPARING 
AND MAILING LETTERS, ETC. 



515 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

1. Introduction — definition and scope of the subject 519 

2. Recommendations 519 

3. Plan of the inquiry 520 

(a) Study of methods in outside concerns 521 

(6) Study of methods in branches of the Government service 522 

(c) Analysis of reports from executive departments 522. 

(d) Work of the special committees 527 

4. Considerations underlying recommendations made 527 

(a) Vertical flat riling 528 

(&) Briefing 528- 

(c) Subjective classification of correspondence 528 

(1) The decimal classification. 529 

(2) Monetary saving possible 531 

(d) Registers of correspondence 531 

(e) The press copy versus the carbon copy 532 

(/) The dictation machine 534 

(g) Mailing machinery 538 

(h) The window envelope 538 

(i) Rearrangement of form blanks 539 

(/) Elimination of salutation and complimentary close 539 

5. Conclusion 541 

(a) Results so far attained 542 

EXHIBITS. 

1 F. Report of test of dictation machine in Post Office Department 542: 

2 F. Report of Navy Department committee 544 

3 F. Report of Treasury Department committee 546 

4 F. Report of Department of Agriculture committee 547 

5 F. Report of Post Office Department committee 548 

6 F. Report of Department of Interior committee 548- 

7 F. Report of Department of Commerce and Labor committee 551 

516 



COPY OF LETTER SENT TO HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS AND INDEPEND- 
ENT ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: I am sending you herewith a circular 
prepared by the Commission on Economy and Efficiency, embodying 
the conclusions reached by the commission concerning the principles 
that should govern in the matter of handling and filing correspondence 
and preparing and mailing communications in connection with the 
work of the several departments of the Government, together with 
suggestions for the use of labor-saving devices in preparing and 
mailing letters, etc. 

It is my desire that, so far as may be practicable, the methods of 
handling correspondence in the Government service be made to 
conform to these principles. After investigating the subject and 
putting into effect the principles referred to in such offices as you may 
consider it advisable, please report to me those offices under your 
department where it would appear to you they can not be adopted 
with advantage. 

Sincerely, yours, Wm. H. Taft. 

The White House, February 13, 1912, 

517 



THE HANDLING AND FILING OF CORRESPONDENCE. 



For the purpose of obtaining a basis for judgment concerning the 
economy or waste with which the ordinary business processes are 
conducted by the Government, several detailed inquiries have been 
instituted by the commission. Among the processes which it was 
thought would be common to all branches of the service is the han- 
dling and filing of correspondence. The subject as outlined for the 
investigation embraces the various methods of preparing communi- 
cations of all kinds, including letters, circulars, forms, etc. It not 
only includes the manual operations, but also the use made of mechan- 
ical appliances to facilitate such operations. 

The mquiry has included every office of the nine executive depart- 
ments in the District of Columbia and a number of services outside 
the departments. It has also gone into the practices of certain pri- 
vate corporations, some of which handle as many as 15,000 pieces of 
correspondence a day. The commission has also had access to the 
data collected in connection with previous Government inquiries on 
the subject. The conclusions arrived at, therefore, are based on a 
consideration of a wider range of data than has been brought together 
in the past. 

Recommendations. 

As the result of the inquiry, and after a study of the needs of the 
various offices in the executive departments and other establishments, 
from the standpoint of an economical and efficient dispatch of the 
public business, the commission arrived at the following conclusions 
concerning the principles that should govern in the matter of handling 
and filing correspondence and preparing and mailing communications : 

1. That the system of folding correspondence and filing in docu- 
ment files should be discontinued, and that all correspondence should 
be filed flat in vertical files. 

2. That the briefing of correspondence should be discontinued. 

3. That all correspondence, both incoming and copies of outgoing, 
should be filed upon a subjective classification arranged as nearly 
as possible upon a self-indexing basis, and where numbers are regarded 
as essential that a logical arrangement of numbers under a decimal 
or analogous system should be employed. 

4. That no book or card record of incoming or outgoing corre- 
spondence should be made except where absolutely essential, and 
that all bound-book registers of correspondence received and sent 
should be discontinued. 

5. That carbon copies should constitute the record of outgoing 
correspondence and that press copying should be discontinued. 

6. That the employment of the dictation machine for the prepara- 
tion of correspondence should be widely extended in the Government 
service. 

519 



520 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

7. That "window" envelopes should be used whenever possible, in 
order to eliminate the cost of addressing envelopes, assure accuracy 
of addressing mail, and facilitate its dispatch. 

8. That circulars issued by the Government should be wrapped 
and mailed by machinery as far as possible, in order to reduce the 
cost at present sustained by hand methods. 

9. That the forms to be filled in on the typewriter should be arranged 
so as to facilitate the making out and reviewing of them. 

10. That the salutation and the complimentary close should be 
eliminated from "service" correspondence; that is to say, corre- 
spondence originating in and addressed to offices of the same depart- 
ment, and that the title below the signature on such correspondence 
should be omitted and the title of officials addressed abbreviated. 

A statement of the considerations which guided the commission in 
reaching the above conclusions, with the detail as to the elements 
which enter into the estimate of saving of expense, is set forth in this 
memorandum. 

Plan of the Inquiry. 

The problem of devising filing systems which will meet all conditions 
is not a simple one. There is no ideal way of filing correspondence 
which can be followed with success in all offices with their diversified 
business and needs. Methods perfect in one office might be loose for 
another and too elaborate for a third. The system must be adapted 
to the conditions of each particular office. 

The essential requirements of a filing system, in the approximate 
order of their importance, may be stated as follows : 

(a) Certainty of obtaining a particular paper or of obtaining 
all the papers relating to a particular subject; and this certainty 
to be independent of the time that has elapsed since the filing of 
the paper. 

(b) Rapidity of obtaining a particular paper or of obtaining 
all papers relating to a particular subject; and this rapidity to 
be only slightly affected by the time which has elapsed since filing. 

(c) Rapidity with which documents may be filed. 

(d) Cheapness of operating the system. 

(e) Simplicity. 

(f) Reduction to a minimum of the space required for docu- 
ments. 

(g) Miscellaneous minor requirements and desirable features, 
such as cross references, numbering, etc. 

At the outset and in pursuance of the general plan of inquiry fol- 
lowed upon other subjects it was decided to ascertain the existing 
conditions in all offices of the executive departments in respect to 
the handling and filing of correspondence. The head of each bureau 
and division of the service was asked, through the Secretary of the 
department, to report the practices of his office. In order that these 
reports might be uniform and in such form that they could be readily 
handled, a list of questions was prepared and distributed February 1, 
1911 (circular No. 5). The questions were designed to bring out the 
existing practices in regard to each step taken in treating a piece of 
correspondence, from the time it was received in a particular division 
or section until it left the same or was permanently filed therein. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 521 

The questions were divided into groups or classes of processes, so that 
the facts in respect of each class could be secured separately. 
The groups of questions were as follows: 
Pertaining to incoming correspondence — 

(a) Receiving and opening. 

(b) Briefing. 

(c) Recording and indexing. 

(d) Distributing. 

Pertaining to outgoing correspondence — 

(e) Preparing. 
if) Briefing. 

(g) Recording and indexing. 

(h) Press copying. 

(i) Dispatching; and 
(j) Filing incoming and copies of outgoing correspondence. 
It will be noted that all of these processes except " preparing" have 
to do entirely with physical handling and recording. With respect 
to these it was assumed that the cost would be largely affected by the 
method of handling and recording, and that comparison of cost, as 
well as of method, would be useful in helping the commission and 
departmental committees to arrive at conclusions. As the cost of 
"preparing" includes dictation as well as typewriting, it was assumed 
that in the nature of things there must be a very great difference in 
cost, running from a simple brief "form letter" to a legal opinion or 
other formidable statement prepared for transmission through the 
mail. 

STUDY OF METHODS IN OUTSIDE CONCERNS. 

After the circular of inquiry was issued representatives of the staff 
of the commission made a study of methods pursued in handling 
correspondence by railroads and industrial concerns, as well as by 
branches of the Government services outside of Washington. The 
results of this study show that the subject is receiving careful atten- 
tion from managers of large corporations, and its importance is coming 
to be fully recognized; that the trend is away from the elaborate and 
in the direction of the simple system; and that vertical flat filing has 
practically supplanted all other systems. 

It appears the main distinction to be made between the average 
filing system in the Government and those in commercial concerns is 
that in most branches of the Government too great effort seems to be 
made to devise a system which will provide against every contingency, 
no matter how remote. Commercial concerns surround their affairs 
with proper safeguards, and keep sufficient records of their business 
transactions to provide against those embarrassments which under a 
reasonable estimate of probabilities may occur, but they do not waste 
their time in devising systems so elaborate as to provide against every 
contingency which might by ingenious conjecture be conceived as 
possible. 

It would seem that if the bureaus and divisions of the Government 
measure their precautions in the matter of filing correspondence by 
what appears likely in the usual course of things, they will adopt a 
reasonable businesslike svstem, and having done so they will not be 
subject to just criticism if in a remote case something arises which 
reasonable foresight could not provide against. 



522 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

It is recognized that many records of the Government, especially 
those involving private rights or that may concern claims, must be 
handled with more care and with more expense than is necessary in 
the case of current correspondence on subjects not of permanent 
interest. 

STUDY OF METHODS IN BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE. 

Observations in the branches of the service outside of Washington dis- 
close, with few exceptions, that in regard to the methods followed in han- 
dling and filing correspondence practically no relation exists between 
them and the methods pursued at the headquarters of the same serv- 
ice at Washington. It is important, in the opinion of the commis- 
sion, that where the nature of the business and the operations incident 
thereto at branch offices are like those at headquarters, the whole 
system of handling and filing correspondence should be uniform. 
Under such an arrangement the correspondence files throughout the 
branches of the service would become one comprehensive system, 
with each letter on the same subject bearing the same file reference 
regardless of the point of origin. Uniform classification would also 
permit file clerks experienced in one part of the service to be useful 
in another and result in their training along similar lines. There is 
another advantage to be secured if the filing systems of the branches 
of a bureau or division are the same as those at headquarters. Most 
of the correspondence of the Government falls into the class known 
as "service" correspondence; that is to say, correspondence originat- 
ing in and destined for an office of the Government. A very large 
part of it is between the executive departments at Washington and 
the branch or service offices in the field ; and the filing result is that 
one copy, the original, is kept in the branch office, and the carbon 
copy in the files at headquarters, or vice versa. Thus there exist 
in the service duplicate files of correspondence. If the files in the field 
service were arranged upon the same subject classification as those at 
headquarters, in the case of a misplacement, loss, or destruction of 
any part of a file, either in the field or at headquarters, the file could 
be made intact again (if necessary) by securing copies of all the cor- 
respondence upon the missing subject from the office where the files 
were still preserved. 

ANALYSIS OF REPORTS FROM EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

Reports from all the departments in answer to the circular of 
inquiry, herein referred to, were so analyzed that it is possible to 
determine in a general way the methods used and the cost of the dif- 
ferent operations in handling and fifing correspondence in each 
bureau and division. 

An idea of the tremendous scale on which correspondence of the 
executive departments is handled may be had when it is stated that 
the departments in Washington receive annually 43,000,000 com- 
munications and dispatch during a like period 22,000,000, making a 
total of 65,000,000 communications handled each year. 

The summary on pages 524 and 525 shows the salary cost by depart- 
ments of the various operations which enter into the handling of cor- 
respondence as disclosed by the figures furnished by each bureau and 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 523 

division. Since the correspondence handled by each department 
and office varies greatly in amount, it was thought a ready means of 
comparison between departments might be afforded if a statement 
were also made showing the cost of each operation on the basis of a 
thousand communications handled. The summary, therefore, also 
shows that information; the basis used for operations 1 to 4, inclu- 
sive, being the total number of incoming communications; that for 
operations 5 to 9, inclusive, the total number of outgoing communica- 
tions ; and that for the last operation, the total number of communi- 
cations filed. 



524 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 




REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 525 



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526 REPORTS or THE commission on economy and efficiency. 

As has been stated, a clear distinction was made in the inquiry 
between the purely physical and recording processes and those having 
to do with " preparation" of drafts of letters, etc. In all such proc- 
esses as " receiving and opening/' " recording and indexing/' etc., it 
was assumed that a letter of one page would require approximately 
the same time as a letter of five pages. The returns, however, 
showed great differences in cost. The average cost of receiving and 
opening mail per thousand communications for all offices in each 
department runs from $1.21 a thousand in the Navy Department to 
$13.63 in the Department of Justice; the average cost of recording 
and indexing incoming correspondence for all offices in each depart- 
ment runs from 52 cents a thousand in the Post Office Department 
and $8.93 in the Navy Department, to $62.98 in the War Department. 
The total cost per 1,000 of the operations which make up the handling 
of outgoing correspondence, exclusive of " preparing," runs from 
$5.94 a thousand in the Department of Agriculture to $69.89 in the 
Department of Justice. 

The foregoing represents merely physical handling and recording. 
In the operation of preparing outgoing correspondence the differ- 
ences are very great, as would be expected. The average cost for this 
process for all offices in each department runs from $63.41 in the Post 
Office Department to $438.29 a thousand in the Department of Justice. 

Combining all the operations in respect to outgoing correspondence, 
it is found that the lowest cost per 1,000 communications is in the 
Post Office Department, the rate being $70, and the highest cost, 
$508.18 per 1,000, is in the Department of Justice. 

In this inquiry the terms "correspondence" and "communication" 
were used in their widest sense. It was impracticable to discriminate 
between classes of communications. Everything was designed to be 
included, from the mere printed acknowledgment of the receipt of a 
given sum of money, or a stereotyped circular letter conveying infor- 
mation to hundreds of persons in like form, to the carefully prepared 
letter of several pages, or long legal opinion requiring long time and 
much care in preparation. These important factors must be kept in 
mind in connection with the consideration of the cost figures con- 
tained in the tabular analysis. Notwithstanding these variations, it 
is believed that the figures furnish a reasonable guide to existing con- 
ditions from the standpoint of cost in the executive departments of 
the various operations referred to. 

The reports from the departments disclosed not only widely 
divergent methods of handling and filing correspondence relating to 
the same kind of business, but great differences in the fundamental 
nature of the business of bureaus of the same department. The 
impracticability of devising a uniform method of treatment of the 
correspondence of all the departments was apparent at once. In 
each executive department, which under the organization of the 
Government was created for the purpose of conducting a particular 
branch of the public business, the nature of the business of one 
bureau or division, and the methods which are necessarily pursued 
in carrying it on, as compared with other bureaus and divisions of 
the same department, frequently are as unlike as the business of 
different departments. 

Not only the activities of the different offices but their needs from 
the standpoint of frequent or rare consultation of files are very 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 527 

diverse. In some offices papers once filed are laid away permanently, 
and it is rare that occasion arises when they need be consulted; in 
others the files are consulted daily and with great frequency. It is 
obvious that a system which would meet the needs of one office might 
be quite inadequate for another. 

The most difficult problem, perhaps, in regard to filing systems is 
to what extent those systems shall be supported by subsidiary indexes 
or devices to provide information which is called for but rarely, and to 
what extent means shall be provided for finding correspondence and 
documents where the request for the same is accompanied with 
meager information, such as the date of the communication or the 
name of the writer only. 

At one end of the scale is a filing system by subjects only with no 
supporting indexes and no cross references; at the other a system 
with subsidiary indexes to provide against every possible contin- 
gency which a vivid imagination may conceive as being possible. The 
needs of an office and the probabilities of unusual demands vary 
greatly, according to the functions of the office and its relations with 
the public or other governmental offices. A loose system of filing 
correspondence is not advocated nor, on the other hand, one which 
shall provide for contingencies which may arise once in a lifetime. 
The commission believes in a system which will provide against those 
contingencies which may reasonably be expected to occur, and its 
efforts in developing methods will be guided by that principle. 

WORK OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEES. 

After the existing facts upon the subject had been ascertained, 
it was considered desirable, in developing ideas looking to the sim- 
plification and systematizing of methods, to ascertain by personal 
visits in each bureau and division of the service not only the general 
functions of the office but its needs from the filing standpoint. The 
employees of the commission to whom had been assigned the work 
could not make such personal visits except at the expense of a great 
amount of time. Furthermore, it is the expressed policy of the 
commission that, so far as may be possible, economical and more effi- 
cient methods shall be devised in cooperation with officers and em- 
ployees in the several departments. In pursuance of this policy 
it was decided that the best means of securing such cooperation would 
be through special committees operating simultaneously in each de- 
partment. These special committees consist of five persons each, 
three from the department, and two members of the staff of the 
commission. The committees are now actively at work in the fol- 
lowing departments: Treasury, Navy, Post Office, Interior, Agri- 
culture, and Commerce and Labor. 

Considerations Underlying Kecommendations Made. 

While giving full recognition to the variety of business in different 
departments, with the resultant necessity that the methods of con- 
ducting such business be different, the commission believes in uni- 
formity of practice where the conditions are alike, and that a sys- 
tematic and economical handling of the correspondence of the 
executive departments necessarily rests upon certain general prin- 

37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 34 



528 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

ciples, which have already been stated on page 51 9 of this report. The 
considerations which guided the commission in reaching its conclu- 
sions are set forth in the following pages. 

VERTICAL FLAT FILING. 

Many of the documents and communications in the Government 
files are folded to a size approximately 3^ by 8 inches and placed in 
document files instead of being filed unfolded or folded to a size 
approximately 9 by 11 inches. In railroad and industrial concerns 
it is extremely rare that papers in the files are folded. The almost 
universal custom is to file correspondence and documents flat. Fol- 
lowing the trend in commercial concerns, many offices of the Govern- 
ment have within recent years changed their method of filing from 
folded to flat, but quite a large number of the offices still maintain 
folded or " document" files. 

BRIEFING. 

The purpose of briefing communications on the back is to facilitate 
their identification when folded and filed in a document file. With 
the adoption of flat filing the purpose of the brief will be removed. 

Monetary saving possible— If briefing were abolished in all the 
executive departments, as it has been in some of the departments, 
the saving in salaries alone would amount to $88,524.12 per annum. 
This figure is taken from the reports submitted by the departments. 
For the portion of their time engaged in briefing, the salaries of 
employees amounted to the figure given. 

SUBJECTIVE CLASSIFICATION OF CORRESPONDENCE. 

Out of over 250 filing systems in the executive departments em- 
braced by the inquiry but few can be described as scientific or logical 
classifications. Most of the files are not classified at all save in the 
broadest manner. In the absence of scientific models on which to 
base a system, file clerks have had to devise a method of classifying 
or arranging correspondence to suit local requirements. 

The usual system found in Government offices is nothing more than 
a numerical finding method. Under this plan all the letters or cases 
received are numbered under one immense sequence of progressive 
numbers, each new file receiving the number after the last file. It 
insures considerable ease in the finding of a given letter provided the 
file number is known and presents the economic advantage of requir- 
ing filing space to be reserved only at one place — the end of the 
sequence. In some offices a variation of this plan is had, the principal 
difference being that the correspondence is broken up into several 
broad classes or .divisions, in each of which the letters are arranged in 
a separate series of progressive numbers in the order of their receipt. 

In connection with these systems a book register or card index is 
usually employed, by means of which the location of correspondence 
is ascertained. The book registers are giving place to the more elastic 
card index, but the correspondence itself continues to be filed according 
to the arbitrary plan of numbering. While the card-index system is 
a distinct advance over former methods, it is not a filing system at 



REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 529 

all. It merely enables the file clerk to get hold of particular letters, 
but it does not gather together papers on the different branches of a 
subject. If all papers bearing upon a matter are desired, they must 
be searched for under various heads in the card index and extracted 
from a large number of jackets; and there is every reason to believe 
that only a portion of the papers desired can ever be obtained. 
Papers on identically the same subject are widely separated in the 
files, because the momentary consideration allotted them results in 
different decisions as to their proper place. The danger of burying 
papers in unsuspected localities results in laborious cross carding, 
instead of striking at the real root of the evil — the method of filing 
the papers. 

Although a filing system may possess the most complete of subject 
indexes, it can not be considered in perfect order without classifica- 
tion of the papers in the file itself. 

The modern system of filing correspondence is, in fact, the applica- 
tion of the card-index principle to the filing of letters. It is surpris- 
ing to find in how many offices of the Government where vertical 
filing is employed that there is but little conception of its possibilities. 
An alphabetic or numeric system of arranging folders is frequently 
regarded as all that can be done, although, as a matter of fact, the 
possibilities of the system are as broad and comprehensive as those 
of the card-index system. There is no reason why correspondence 
may not be sectionalized and classified just as satisfactorily as the 
cards in the card drawer. While the system in some of its ramifica- 
tions can be made very complex, it is only necessary to learn the few 
simple particulars that lie at the basis of the system to work a classi- 
fication of the correspondence itself as well as of the cards in the 
index. 

THE DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION. 

The subject of classification in its broad sense has attracted the 
notice of scholars and practical men alike, in respect of its applica- 
tion to knowledge, for several hundred years, but it was not until 
the nineteenth century that schemes of systematic library classifica- 
tion came into use, and it is only within the past 10 years that con- 
sideration has been given to the classification of correspondence. 

In several railroad and industrial corporations, as well as in a few 
offices of the Government, a subjective classification of correspondence 
based upon the Dewey decimal system of library classification has 
been placed in successful operation. This system, which is the most 
extensively used of all schemes of systematic library classification, 
was devised in 1873 by Melvil Dewey. His method divides human 
knowledge into 10 classes, to which numbers are assigned as follows: 

0. General works. 

1. Philosophy. 

2. Religion. 

3. Sociology. 

4. Theology. 

5. Natural science. 

6. Useful arts. 

7. Fine arts. 

8. Literature. 

9. History. 



530 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY .AND EFFICIENCY. 

Each of the above classes is divided into 10 divisions, and each 
division into 10 sections. The books are arranged on the shelves in 
simple numerical order, all class numbers being decimal. Since each 
subject has a definite number, all books on any subject must stand 
together. 

Applying this system to the correspondence of a telephone com- 
pany, for example, we have the following as examples of the main 
classes : 

000 General. 

100 Executive. 

200 Finance and accounts. 

300 Construction. 

400 Equipment. 

500 Operation. 

600 Rates. 
Each of the above general classes is susceptible of further subdi- 
vision by the employment of additional digits. For example, the 
heading "300 Construction" is subdivided as follows: 

300 Construction. 

310 Real estate. 

320 Pole lines. 

330 Circuits, loops, phantoms, etc. 

340 Conduits. 

350 Poles, wires, etc. 

360 Cables. 

370 Private lines, wire, etc. 
No. 310 is subdivided thus: 

310 Real estate. 

310.1 Purchase of property. 

310.2 Construction of new buildings. 

310.3 Maintenance of real estate. 
And No. 310.2 is subdivided as follows: 

310.2 Construction of new buildings. 

310.21 Plans and specifications. 

310.22 Contracts for new buildings. 

310.23 Interior appointments. 
No. 310.23 has these subdivisions: 

310.23 Interior appointments. 

310.231 Furnishing. 

310.232 Heating plant. 

310.233 Lighting. 

And No. 310.233 is subdivided into: 
310.233 Lighting. 

310.233.1 Electric wiring. 

310.233.2 Gas fixtures. 

310.233.3 OiL 

The process can be continued ad infinitum regardless of the diver- 
sity of the subjects or minutiae of detail involved. 

The advantages of the decimal system as applied to correspondence 
files are: 

1. It can be applied with ease to the most varied subjects, and 
the most minute details can be classified by a few figures which 
represent their relationship and show their dependence upon or 
subordination to one another. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 531 

2. When any new topic arises, it is always closely related to some 
other existing head and connecting it with the nearest head by 
adding a decimal place makes abundant room for the newcomer. 
The system is thus capable of unlimited expansion and can never 
break down for lack of room for growth. 

3. Not only are all papers on one subject found together, but 
the most nearly allied subjects precede and follow, they in turn being 
preceded and followed by other allied subjects as far as practicable. 

4. Correspondence on allied subjects is sure to be separated 
sooner or later in every file arranged on the common plan unless it be 
frequently rearranged and reindexed, and the great amount of labor 
involved renders it impracticable and very undesirable. 

5. The numbers tell of each letter or file of correspondence both 
what it is and where it is. 

6. While the total file numbers used may be quite large, as a 
matter of fact a file arranged upon the decimal system may be said to 
consist of but 10 numbers, namely, zero to 9, inclusive; the other 
numbers being subdivisions of these 10 general heads for the conven- 
ience of the file clerk in placing the papers in the file in a systematic 
manner so that they can be quickly located when wanted. 

7. Correspondence can be readily located without reference to the 
subject index. 

Monetary saving possible — While it is difficult to estimate the mon- 
etary saving which would be effected if the files in the offices of the 
executive departments were placed upon a subjective basis and fol- 
lowed the principles of classification above set forth, it is believed 
that the direct saving on this score would amount to not less than 
$200,000 a year, while the indirect saving from the standpoint of 
better organization of working materials would undoubtedly tend to 
increase that sum. 

Subjective classification would in many instances, if the experience 
of railroad and commercial concerns is any guide, be followed by a 
discontinuance of a very large part of the recording and indexing of 
incoming and outgoing correspondence. The cost in the executive 
departments of this operation is $536,654.50 in salaries alone, and 
8,000,000 cards and 800,000 pages of book records are rilled annually. 
While it would be speculative to estimate the amount which would be 
saved by the introduction of a subject classification for the corre- 
spondence of the executive departments, so far as the operation of 
recording and indexing correspondence is concerned, this may be 
said : If the cost of recording and indexing correspondence in all the 
executive departments could be reduced so as to equal in ratio the 
expense sustained by the two most recently created departments, 
which for that reason may be assumed to have the most modern 
methods installed, the saving in this operation alone would amount 
to $200,000 per annum. It is pertinent to remark here that one de- 
partment receiving but one-twentieth of the number of communica- 
tions received in all the executive departments sustains 37 per cent 
of the total expense of recording and indexing incoming corre- 
spondence. 

REGISTERS OF CORRESPONDENCE. 

Growing out of the imperfections of present filing systems, many 
offices have come to use what is known as the ' ' record of correspond- 



532 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

ence," being a complete record of every letter passing in and out of 
the office. 

An idea of the extent to which these records are used may be had 
when it is mentioned that 800,000 pages of such records are filled each 
year in the executive departments at Washington. It is believed that 
with the installation of modern filing systems the necessity for these 
book registers will disappear. 

THE PRESS COPY VERSUS THE CARBON COPY. 

By the almost universal practice of business concerns the carbon 
copy has supplanted the press copy as a record of outgoing corre- 
spondence. A number of offices in the Government have adopted 
the same course and use the carbon copy exclusively, but most of 
them still adhere to the press-copy method. 

In studying the question of the relative economy and efficiency of 
the carbon and press copy as a record of outgoing correspondence, 
the following considerations have more or less importance : 

1. Permanency. 

2. Economy. 

3. Adaptability. 

(a) As facilitating dispatch of mail. 

(b) From standpoint of appearance and neatness. 

(c) From standpoint of saving time of executives and corre- 

spondence clerks. 

1. PERMANENCY. 

After a careful consideration of the reports of tests of inks, type- 
writer ribbons, and carbon papers, made by chemists, both in Gov- 
ernment employ and elsewhere, it is believed that an indelible copy 
can not be obtained from a typewriter ribbon, since copying inks are 
more or less fugitive and many press copies if exposed to the light 
for any length of time become dim or fade entirely away. Even 
under the best conditions the press copy fades after 40 to 50 years, 
whereas the carbon copy makes a permanent nonfading record. The 
effect of this fading quality of the press-copy record has not yet dis- 
played itself with sufficient force to be a pronounced factor, since 
the typewriter has been in use only about 35 or 40 years. 

2. ECONOMY. 

Consideration of the question from the standpoint of economy is 
somewhat difficult, since in nearly every office a different method is 
pursued in press copying letters. In the executive departments, 
however, the part of the salaries proportionate to the time spent by 
employees in press copying letters amounts to $31,080.46 per annum, 
according to the statements made in answer to the inquiry of the 
commission on the subject of handling and filing correspondence. 

The average 500-page press copy book, according to the Govern- 
ment schedule, costs $1.33. It is a conservative estimate that one- 
half dozen press-copy cloths costing 28 cents a dozen are used up in 
copying 1,000 letters. Therefore the average cost for materials per 
1,000 letters is $2.80. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 533 

On the other hand, it is estimated that 65 sheets of carbon paper 
will suffice to make 1,000 carbon copies. The cost of 65 sheets, 
according to the Government schedule, is 22 cents. One thou- 
sand sheets of manila paper, without letterhead printed thereon, 
can be obtained at a cost of 34 cents. The total ol these two items 
is 56 cents a thousand copies, as compared with a cost of $2.80 for 
press copy books and copy cloths, a saving in cost for material in 
favor of the carbon-copy method of $2.24 a thousand. Applying 
this rate to the 14,000,000 communications which, it appears from 
the reports submitted by the executive departments upon the subject 
of handling and filing correspondence, are press copied annually, the 
amount of the saving to be effected is over $31,000. There are very 
few offices where the carbon copy is not taken as well as press cony; 
so that as a matter of fact the press copy is an additional record which 
in most cases could be abolished without the substituted expense of 
taking the carbon copy. In those offices where, due to some peculiar 
conditions, a chronological record of outgoing correspondence is 
imperative, an additional carbon copy could be taken and preserved 
in chronological order. 

By discontinuing press copying the spa'ce now occupied by press- 
copy outfits becomes available for other purposes. The amount of 
space varies, but it is a conservative estimate that an average of 
100 square feet of working space is consumed by the press- 
copying outfit in each office, not to mention the space required for 
filing the bound press-copy books. This storage space is constantly 
growing on account of the accumulation of press-copy books. When 
it is considered that space in Government buildings is worth on the 
average more than 50 cents a square foot, this factor becomes of 
importance. 

3. ADAPTABILITY. 

(a) From standpoint of facilitating dispatch of mail. — By the use 
of carbon copies the original is ready to mail the minute it is signed, 
so that mail signed late in the day may be dispatched the same day 
without requiring overtime work on the part of any employee, while 
papers signed earlier may catch an earlier mail or be earlier trans- 
mitted to another office. This is a distinct increase in efficiency. 

(b) From standpoint of appearance and neatness. — In making carbon 
copies a record-ink ribbon and a record-ink carbon may be used, giv- 
ing a clear, neat, clean appearance to both original and file copies. 
A copying ribbon gives a smeary appearance, the ink rubs off on the 
hands before copying, it is more difficult to erase in making correc- 
tions, and unless press copying is carefully done the ink runs or 
spreads when the letter is copied. The wetting of the paper gives it 
a wrinkled appearance, the creases become set, and the paper has a 
tendency to curl or fold itself up after being unfolded for reading. 
Envelopes coming in contact with recently copied letters often seal 
themselves and must be destroyed and new ones addressed. 

(c) From standpoint of saving time of executives and correspondence 
clerics. — Another factor to consider is the time and convenience of 
officers and correspondence clerks who desire, to read or consult a 
file of papers containing either carbon or press copies. The carbon 
copy is legible, smooth, of sufficient weight and stiffness to be readily 
handled, whereas the press copy is quite often illegible, frequently 
indistinct, is liable to crumple on account of the flimsy nature of the 



534 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

paper which necessarily must be used, and will not stand up in the 
files. 

From the standpoint of filing convenience the carbon copy is 
practically indispensable if vertical files are used, the press copy being 
so flimsy that it can not well be handled unless mounted on a paper 
backing. 

THE DICTATION MACHINE. 

Guided by the experience of large commercial concerns in the use 
of the dictation machine, and knowledge of the fact that the installa- 
tion of such machines in recent years has been extending rapidly, 
careful consideration has been given to the question of the practica- 
bility of using the phonograph for the preparation of correspondence 
in the Government service. 

There appears to exist some prejudice against these machines on 
the part of stenographers. At least, such has been the experience of 
commercial concerns now using the phonograph. To cite one 
example: A large corporation is now using 150 phonographs. Upon 
the first installation of the machines there was such a strong and 
universal protest from the stenographers that very shortly after the 
experiment was begun it was found impossible to continue their use 
and the machines were removed. A second trial on a large scale was 
had, but again the prejudice was sufficient to secure the removal of 
the machines. Upon the third trial the machines were adopted. 
And the result has proved the wisdom of the change. By the present 

Ehonograph method the average cost of a letter is 2.7 cents, whereas 
y the stenographic method formerly employed the average cost per 
letter was 4.3 cents. If offices in the Government can attain results 
to be compared with these, there can be no argument against the 
installation of such machines throughout the service. 

One of the strongest arguments that the dictation machine is an 
economical aid in the preparation of correspondence lies in the fact 
that some of the largest railroad companies and industrial corpora- 
tions in the country are using them, after careful test. It may be 
assumed they would not use the phonograph unless they found it 
more efficient and economical. 

The dictation machine saves the time not only of the stenographer 
but of the dictator, and in the latter respect is about the only labor- 
saving device that affects the departmental head or executive per- 
sonally. It increases his efficiency and gives him concentration and 
independence of action. All the other time-saving devices are for 
assistants with less valuable time and less demand for executive 
promptness, privacy, and high efficiency. To save the time of the 
person who directs others is of prime importance, and when the 
dictation machine accomplishes this and at the same time economizes 
the time of the transcriber, it becomes valuable as a piece of office 
machinery. 

It is not disputed that the dictation machine saves the time of 
the stenographer; tests made anywhere prove that, but the saving 
in the time of the dictator is by indirect process and is not so easily 
ascertainable and demonstrated. That executives are benefited, 
however, is not open to serious question. In the first instance, the 
executives may use their spare moments between their many inter- 
ruptions to dictate correspondence, orders to assistants, etc. The 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 535 



experience of one of the high executive officers of a large railroad 
company was that the phonograph proved a great time saver for 
his assistants. He had 15 call buttons on his desk, and before he 
used the phonograph would press a button, calling some important 
head from a distance to receive a few instructions which are now 
typewritten in better form and at a minimum expense through the 
phonograph. This practice also eliminates the uncertainty of verbal 
instructions. In fact, in many large commercial concerns it has been 
made the rule that oral instructions will not be permitted. 

The commission recently installed in its offices 16 dictation 
machines for experimental purposes. Careful record was kept of 
the rate of speed in turning out work by the phonographic as com- 
pared with the stenographic method. The statistical result of this 
test is given in the table below, which shows for a period of 10 weeks 
the weekly output and the rate of speed by each method. 





veeks, 


Aug. 14 to Nov. 4). 


Stenographic work. 


Phonographic work. 


Period (10 \ 


Number of 
words. 


Words per 
minute. 


Number of 
words. 


Words per 
minute. 


First week 


29,328 
11,112 
11.268 
12,012 
8,652 
26, 544 
23. 124 
26,484 
38,448 
18,778 


28+ 

24+ 

20+ 

18+ 

29 

18+ 

24+ 

21+ 

23+ 

28+ 


65,260 
28,812 
54,812 
40,884 
55,932 
13,608 
60,096 
18, 624 
54, 548 
30,018 


22+ 




20+ 




35+ 




27+ 


Fifth week 


38+ 


Sixth week 


50+ 


Seventh week 


45+ 


Eighth week 


61+ 


Ninth week 


49+ 


Tenth week 


41+ 




for 10 
for fir 
for las 


weeks 




Total averages 
Total averages 
Total averages 




22+ 
23+ 
21 + 




38+ 


3t 5 weeks 




28+ 


t 5 weeks 




49+ 











An examination of this table discloses a constant improvement in 
speed by the dictation-machine operators, while the rate of output 
by the stenographic operators remained stationary. At the outset, 
however, the test disclosed no saving; in fact, the rate of speed of the 
stenographers was greater than that of the dictation-machine oper- 
ators. This was due to the fact that the comparison was between 
experts and novices. The stenographers had had from 1 to 10 years' 
experience, whereas but one of those engaged in the phonographic 
test had ever before used a dictation machine. Under such condi- 
tions any improvement whatever in speed by the operators of the 
dictation machine over the stenographers is significant and a promise 
of a very great improvement as fast as the machine operators become 
accustomed to the machines and expert in their use. If, at the outset, 
the novices using the dictation machine can produce as much work 
as the expert stenographers the economy of the phonograph is 
demonstrated. The stenographers in the continuation of the test 
are not likely to increase their speed, but an increase in the output 
of the phonographic operators is inevitable. 

As proof of the above statement, it will be noted from the preceding 
table that, comparing the output of the first five weeks of the test 
with that of the last five weeks, the rate of speed of the stenographers 
decreased 8 per cent, while the rate of the dictation-machine opera- 
tors increased 73 per cent, and that during the latter period the output 



536 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

of the dictation-machine operators was at a rate of speed 125 per cent 
greater than that maintained by the stenographers. 

A number of offices in the executive departments have installed 
dictation machines for the purpose of making a trial. 

In connection with these tests careful statistical records are being 
kept to show the comparative speed at which work is produced by 
means of the phonographic and stenographic methods. The same 
difficulties which confronted the commercial concerns are being met 
with, but as the result of persevering efforts and excellent cooperation 
from those interested in the subject in the executive departments, fair 
trials and accurate statements of results are expected. 

In one of the large divisions of an executive department 30 
machines were installed for the purpose of a test which lasted two 
months. Before the test was undertaken a complete record of the 
time spent by stenographers at the desks of correspondence clerks and 
others in connection with the taking of dictation, together with the 
time consumed in transcribing the same, was maintained for a month. 
This record showed that the output of the stenographers of this divi- 
sion during the time actually engaged in stenographic and transcribing 
work was at the rate of 14.67 words a minute. 

During the succeeding seven weeks the method of producing corre- 
spondence was changed to the phonographic, and a like record was 
kept. This record showed that the output of 23 operators, amount- 
ing to 730,504 words of letters, etc., produced in 693 working hours, 
was at the rate of 17.56 words a minute, or an increase in rate of 
approximately 20 per cent. 

The above figures, however, do not set forth with complete justice 
to the dictation machines the comparative efficiency of the two 
methods, since in the case of the stenographers they had had years 
of experience, whereas none of them had ever before used the dicta- 
tion machine. For this reason, at the outset, the rate of output by 
means of the dictation machine was very low; in fact, it was lower 
than the rate of output by the stenographic method. As the test 
progressed, however, the increase of rate of output was pronounced 
and steady, so that, while the rate was only 14 words a minute during 
the first week, during the seventh or last week of the test the rate was 
over 32 words a minute, this last rate showing an increase over the 
stenographic method of more than 100 per cent. It is confidently 
believed that the rate of output by the dictation-machine method 
would have increased still more, but as the test had already lasted 
seven weeks and the results seemed to be conclusive, it was not 
regarded necessary to continue the trial longer. 

The statistics kept showed only the saving in time or the increase 
of output by the stenographers. It took no account of the saving 
in time which accrued to the dictators, whose time is more valuable, 
on account of their higher compensation, but impossible to measure 
in a true comparison with the stenographic method on account of the 
following circumstances: The difference of method by the dictator 
in using the stenographer and the dictation machine is radical. The 
usual practice by the former method is for the dictator to take a suc- 
cession of cases, go over them, prepare in each case the reply he 
intends to make, after which he calls the stenographer and proceeds 
with his dictation. By this time the dictator has in his mind some 
20 to 30 replies, but he has read so many letters and consulted so 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 537 



man} 7 papers in connection with them that it is obvious in the second 
going over of his mail, he must, to a certain extent, lose more or less 
time in recalling important points in the case, which, of course, 
necessitates a review of the papers. It is not unreasonable to state 
that by this method some 5 or 10 per cent of the dictator's time is 
lost, besides the time of the stenographer, who is compelled to sit 
idly by while such review work is being done. 

By the use of the dictation machine, however, no time is lost in 
reading papers or files the second time. The machine being near the 
desk of the dictator, as each case is prepared in the first place the reply 
is dictated and disposed of. The result is a letter prepared fresh 
from the mind of the dictator, whereas by the stenographic method 
the letter is dictated a considerable time after preparation and must 
necessarily suffer, both in direct application to the case as well as 
in diction. 

The report of the superintendent of the division where the above 
test was had is contained in Exhibit 1 F. 

In order to furnish a concise view of the comparative results of the 
two methods, the table given below shows the rate of output during 
five weeks by the stenographic method and the rate of output 
of each of the seven weeks during the period of the phonographic 
test, showing also in respect of the phonographic test the percentage 
of increase in rate of output of each week over the week next pre- 
ceding. The figures disclose a steady increase in output by the 
phonographic method, although at the outset the rate was somewhat 
below that of the stenographers, thus showing beyond contradiction, 
so far as the work of that division was concerned, twice the amount 
of correspondence could be produced in the same length of time. 

Table showing average number of words per minute written by stenographic method and by 
phonographic method by the stenographic force of the Rural Free Delivery, Post Office 
Department, for five weeks, 1911. 



Stenographer or phonograph 
operator number. 


Steno- 
graphic 
average 
for five 
weeks. 




Phonographic average for- 






First 
week. 


Second 
week. 


Third 
week. 


Fourth 
week. 


Fifth 
week. 


Sixth 
week. 


Seventh 
week. 


1 


29+ 
13+ 

14+ 
14+ 
15+ 


28+ 
8 
6 

14+ 
14+ 


17+ 
11 
11 ' 
17 
18+ 
13+ 
4+ 
16+ 


24+ 

12 

12 

13 

19+ 


19+ 
14 
18 
15 


21+ 


29+ 


34+ 


2 


11 


3 


21 
28 


30 

14 
19+ 


39 


4 




5 


16+ 


6 








7 














8 




15+ 
13+ 
21+ 

28+ 
20+ 
13+ 












9 














10 


28+ 


20+ 
31+ 
13+ 

<2X4- 


22+ 
24+ 
15+ 

24+ 


22+ 
23+ 
16+ 

28+ 


39+ 
10+ 
17 

22+ 


29+ 
17+ 
26+ 
35+ 


30 


11 


40+ 


12 


19+ 

28+ 
9+ 


28+ 


13 


42+ 


14 






15 


6+ j 9+ 


15+ 
10+ 


18+ 








16 


13+ 


12+ 




10+ 


. 26+ 




17 


9+ 6+ 








18 




20+ 
10+ 


23+ 
15+ 
12+ 
15+ 


22+ 
18+ 
14+ 
18+ 


21+ 

25+ 
5+ 
12+ 


29+ 
15+ 
3+ 

17+ 
26+ 
19+ 


29+ 
29+ 
39+ 
23+ 
25+ 
20+ 


28+ 


19 


9+ 




20 




10+ 


86+ 


21 




27+ 


22 




20+ 


23 


13+ | 11+ 


12+ 

3+ 


11+ 


15+ 


21+ 


24 


















General averages 


14.67 



14+ 



14+ 



17+ 
21 


17+ 



19+ 
11 


26 
36 


32+ 
23 


Percentage of increase over week 
next preceding 







538 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

The head of this division has recommended the purchase of 14 
dictation machines, finding as a result of the installation he can 
reduce his force immediately by six persons, at a saving in salaries of 
over $6,000 per annum. 

Monetary saving 'possible. — If the dictation machine were used in 
all cases where possible in the executive departments in Washington, 
with a resulting reduction in cost of producing correspondence at a 
rate only half that attained in commercial concerns, the saving 
would be more than $500,000 a year. 

The average cost of preparing a communication in the executive 
departments, as shown by the figures submitted by those depart- 
ments in answer to the inquiry of the commission on the subject of 
handling correspondence, is 11.5 cents for communications of all 
kinds. This figure includes letters, printed forms, circulars, etc. 
We are dealing now, however, only with typewritten letters. It is 
obvious, therefore, that the cost of producing typewritten letters is 
very much more than 11.5 cents each, but for the purpose of this 
statement* 11.5 cents a letter will be taken as the basis. In some of 
the largest' railroad systems in the United States the average cost 
of producing a letter by the stenographic method was 5 \ cents. 
After the introduction of the voice-writing machine it was found 
that the cost of production was reduced over 50 per cent. Assuming 
that the introduction of the phonograph as a means of producing 
correspondence in the Government service will effect a saving of, not 
50 per cent, as was the experience of several large railroads and 
industrial corporations, but 25 per cent only, we would have a saving 
of 2.875 cents for each letter. Applying this rate to the 18,600,000 
letters written by stenographers in the executive departments at 
Washington, the saving per annum would amount to over $500,000. 

MAILING MACHINERY. 

In some departments a very large amount of circular matter is 
issued, a considerable part of which is folded, enveloped and addressed 
by hand. By the introduction of modern addressing and mailing 
machinery the clerical labor now spent on such work could be reduced 
to a great extent with economical results. 

THE WINDOW ENVELOPE. 

This envelope has a portion of the face transparent, so that by 
folding and inserting the letter or other inclosure in a certain way 
the name and mailing address as given on the inclosure are shown 
through the transparent portion. 

This envelope accomplishes two main things : First, it insures abso- 
lute accuracy of address, since the address in the letter serves as the 
address of the envelope; second, it effects the elimination of the 
clerical operation of addressing envelopes. 

The window envelope has been made the subject of a special report, 
which was submitted to the President December 4, 1911, and trans- 
mitted to Congress February 5, 1912 (S. Doc. No. 293.) 



BEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 539 
REARRANGEMENT OF FORM BLANKS. 

One question which is receiving attention in connection with the 
handling of correspondence is whether the arrangement of forms 
which are partially printed or multigraphed and designed to be filled 
in by the typewriter can not be improved so that the information 
which is now entered in scattered places may be concentrated in one 
place. Such an arrangement of form blanks will save time for two 
reasons. The first and major reason is that the reviewing officer or 
employee can see at a glance, because the inserted information is com- 
pact, everything he desires to see without losing time reading any of 
the printed part of the form. The second and minor reason -is that 
the stenographer can fill in a form very much more rapidly if the 
information is concentrated in one part than if he has to skip from 
place to place to insert each item. 

ELIMINATION OF SALUTATION AND COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE. 

The reports from the executive departments on the subject of 
handling and filing correspondence show that there are dictated to 
stenographers in the executive departments of the Government at 
Washington approximately 18,600,000 communications annually. It 
is believed to be a reasonable estimate that three-fourths of this 
number are "service" communications — that is to say, correspondence 
between Government offices and employees. The production of this 
enormous quantity of correspondence consumes a large part of the 
time of officers and employees, and any reduction in the bulk thereof 
or simplification or abbreviation of methods, no matter how slight, 
will effect a saving quite large in amount. 

The elements of a letter, in the order in which they customarily 
appear, are as follows: 

1. The title and location of the person or office from which the 

letter emanates. 

2. The date. 

3. The name, title, and location of the person addressed. 

4. The salutation. 

5. The body of the communication. 

6. The complimentary close. 

7. The signature. 

8. The title of the person signing. 

The essential elements of a letter are the date, the person from 
whom or office from which the letter emanates, the person to whom 
the letter is sent, the body of the communication, and the signature. 
The salutation and the complimentary close add nothing to the letter 
from the standpoint of transacting the business of the Government. 
These elements, serving no practical purpose, could be eliminated 
without detriment to the public business and at a considerable saving 
of time and expense. 

The other elements in a letter, being essential, can not be elimi- 
nated, but they can be much abbreviated. For instance, the title 
of the person from whom the communication emanates is usually 
stated twice, namely, on the letterhead and below the signature. 
Stating this information once serves the practical purpose of the 



540 REPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

letter. Furthermore, the title of the official to whom the letter is 
sent, frequently long and usually spelled out in full, could be abbre- 
viated and time as well as space be saved. This idea is best explained 
by setting forth a hypothetical case, comparing the present pro- 
cedure with that proposed. Say, for example, the Postmaster Gen- 
eral desired to instruct the Third Assistant Postmaster General to 
have prepared for his consideration a statement showing the total 
weight of second-class matter at first-class post offices in the United 
States during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. Under the present 
practice a lettet in the following form would be written: 

Hon. James J. Britt, October 9, 1911. 

Third Assistant Postmaster General. 
Sir: Please have prepared for my consideration a statement showing the total weight 
of second-class matter mailed at United States post offices of the first class during the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. 

Very respectfully, F. H. Hitchcock, 

Postmaster General. 

Eliminating the salutation and the complimentary close, and writ- 
ing the title only of the person addressed, the letter would read as 
follows : 

October 9, 1911. 
Third Assistant Postmaster General:- 

Please have prepared for my consideration a statement showing the total weight of 
second-class matter mailed at United States post offices of the first class during the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. 

Hitchcock. 

The third method, representing the extreme of abbreviation and 
simplicity, but omitting nothing which would serve a practical pur- 
pose, would be as follows : 

October 9, 1911. 
Third Asst. : 

Please have prepared for my consideration a statement showing the total weight of 
second-class matter mailed at United States post offices of the first class during the 
fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. 

Hitchcock. 

Every practical purpose of the direction of the Postmaster General 
to his Third Assistant is subserved by condensing the communication 
in the manner set forth in the third example. By the third method 
the equivalent of 13 words is saved over the first method. 

That this proposition is not merely theoretical is seen by the fact 
that several foreign Governments in some of their large departments 
have actually eliminated from their correspondence the salutation 
and complimentary close as well as abbreviated the titles of their 
public officers. In the United States some large corporations are 
doing the same thing. One of the greatest railroad companies in 
America is simplifying its correspondence to the extent of eliminating 
the salutation and complimentary close as well as using the initials 
of the individual from whom the letter emanates and to whom it is 
addressed in correspondence within certain divisions of its service. 
This is being done as an experiment and is meeting with such success 
that its use now bids fair to be extended all over the system. 

In the German Navy, as well as in our own Navy Department, 
the salutation and complimentary close are omitted from communi- 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 541 

cations within the service, and the signing officer writes his last name 
only with omission of title below the signature. In the French 
Army practically the same rule is followed. In the British Navy 
simplification and abbreviation have been carried further than is here 
proposed. For example, in correspondence within the office of the 
First Lord of the Admiralty (the highest officer in that service) he 
does even less than sign the last name. That official signs only the 
initial letter of his last name, on the ground that time is too valuable 
for an officer of such rank to spend any greater part than is abso- 
lutely necessary in signing his name. Authoritative approval of mat- 
ters is all that is desired and that is secured by attaching his initial 
to the communication or order. 

The War Department, in recognition of the substantial advantage 
to be secured by the elimination of useless ceremonial forms in its 
correspondence, has directed, by way of experiment, that all cere- 
monial forms at the beginning and end of letters, such as "Sir," "I 
have the honor," "I would respectfully," "Very respectfully," etc., 
shall be omitted, and that the official designation of the writer and 
the name of the official or person addressed shall be written upon 
one fine, thus: 

"Chief Commissary to Adjutant General.'* 

CONCLUSION. 

The preceding figures setting forth the possible saving which could 
be attained if the recommendations of the commission were put into 
effect are based mainly upon the reports furnished to the commission 
by the executive departments. They take no account of the saving 
which could be effected by the introduction of improved methods in 
the independent governmental establishments and the branches out- 
side of Washington, where there exists an administrative and clerical 
service considerably larger than that in Washington. If these 
improvements were extended throughout the Government service, 
both in Washington and elsewhere, the saving would reach a very 
much higher figure than heretofore stated. 

The further prosecution of the inquiry, and the development of 
methods based upon the above conclusions, have been placed in the 
hands of special committees operating independently of each other. 
Although the commission has representatives on every one of the 
committees, the determination of the general method of pursuing 
the subject rests with the majority of each special committee. It 
may be stated, however, that the recommendations of the commit- 
tees so far made have been in exact consonance with the general con- 
clusions reached by the commission on the subject and that these 
conclusions have been embodied in the committees' reports without 
dissent. This uniform attitude of the committees is disclosed in the 
reports made by them in regard to the following departments: Navy, 
Treasury, Agriculture, Post Office, Interior, and Commerce and Labor, 
which are made a part of this report as Exhibits 2 F, 3 F, 4 F, 5 F, 6 F, 
and 7 F. 

The work of devising improved methods is proceeding satisfactorily 
in the executive departments and with as much dispatch as circum- 
stances make possible. 



542 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 
RESULTS SO FAR ATTAINED. 

Since the inquuy on the subject of handling and filing correspond- 
ence was entered upon, a number of changes in methods of handling 
correspondence and in filing systems have been made in conformity 
with the recommendations herein stated. Many of these changes 
are attributable, directly or indirectly, it is believed, to the efforts of 
the commission. It is not possible at this time, however, to ascertain 
the full extent to which such changes have been made, but those 
which have come to the attention of the commission, or which have 
been effected in cooperation with the efforts of the commission, have 
resulted in a saving estimated at from $50,000 to $75,000 per annum. 

Washington, D. C, February IS, 1912. 



Exhibit 1 F. 

January 16, 1912. 
The Fourth Assistant Postmaster General: 

Sir: I have the honor to submit below, with the suggestion that it be transmitted 
to the chief clerk of the department for his information, a report concerning the use of 
phonographs in the Division of Rural Mails. 

During the months of October and November last, at the request of the President's 
Commission on Economy and Efficiency, I undertook to determine by experiments 
the practicability of preparing correspondence by means of the dictating machine. 
For this purpose 30 machines were made available. * * * I conceived that the 
essence of this question lay in the fact whether by the use of phonographs a greater or 
less amount of letters could be produced in the same period of time than by the sten- 
ographic method. The result was that the phonograph method doubled my output, 
or what amounts to the same thing, produced the same output in less than half the 
ime. 

The following was the method of the test: During the month of September the ste- 
nographers of my division were directed to keep a record of the time spent by each at 
the desk of correspondence clerks in connection with the taking of dictation, together 
with the time spent transcribing the same. This record showed that the output of 12 
stenographers amountedto 321,129 words of letters, memoranda, or correspondence of 
like nature, in 353 working hours, which was at the rate of 14.67 words a minute. 

During the succeeding seven weeks the method of producing correspondence was 
changed to the phonographic and like record was kept. This record showed that the 
output of 23 operators amounted to 730,504 words of letters, etc., produced in 693 
working hours, which was at the rate of 17.56 words a minute, or an increase in rate 
of output of approximately 20 per cent. 

The above figures, however, do not set forth with complete justice to the dictating 
machines the comparative efficiency of the two methods, since, in the case of the 
stenographers they had had years of experience, whereas none of them had ever 
before used the dictating machine. For this reason, at the outset, the rate of output 
by means of the dictating machine was very low; in fact, it was lower than the rate 
of output by the stenographic method. As the test was continued, however, the 
increase of rate of output was pronounced and steady, so that, while the rate was only 
14 words per minute during the first week, during the seventh or last week the rate 
was over 32 words a minute, this last rate showing an increase over the stenographic 
method of more than 100 per cent. In my opinion the rate of ouput by the dicta- 
tion-machine method would have increased considerably more, but as the test had 
lasted already 12 weeks and the result seemed to me to be conclusive, I did not con- 
tinue the use of the machine any longer. 

The statistics kept showed only the saving in time or the increase of output by the 
stenographers. It took no account of the saving in time which accrued to the dicta- 
tors, whose time of course is more valuable, on account of the higher salaries received, 
but impossible to measure in a true comparison with the stenographic method, due 
to the following circumstances: The difference of method by the dictator in using the 
stenographer and the dictation machine is radical. The usual practice by the former 
method is for the dictator to take a succession of cases, go over them, prepare in case 
after case the reply he intends to make, and after his cases are ready he calls the 



KEPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 543 

stenographer and proceeds with his dictation. By the time the dictator is ready to 
dispose of his correspondence he has got in his mind from 20 to 50 letters, but he has 
read so many letters and consulted so many files in connection with them that it 
is obvious in the second going over of his mail he must, to a certain extent, lose more 
or less time in recalling important points in the case, which, of course, necessitates a 
second review of the papers. I believe it is not unreasonable to say that by this 
method from 5 to 10 per cent of the dictator's time is lost, besides the time of the 
stenographer, who is compelled to sit idly by while such second review work is being, 
made. 

By the use of the talking machine, however, no time is lost in reviewing papers the 
second time. The talking machine being on the desk of the dictator, as each case is 
prepared in the first place a letter relating to it is dictated and disposed of. The result, 
by this method, is a letter prepared fresh from the mind of the dictator, whereas the 
other way the letter is dictated after considerable time has elapsed and must neces- 
sarily suffer both in direct application to the case as well as in diction. While the 
saving of time to the dictator by the use of the talking machine is apparent and con- 
siderable, as is evidenced by representations made by many of the dictators to me for 
a continuance of the use of the machine, it is not possible to accurately measure it in 
time. I am convinced, however, that there is a material saving in time to the 
dictator. * * * 

In order to furnish a concise view of the comparative results by the two methods, 
the table sets forth the rate of output during the five weeks by the stenographic method 
and the rate of the output for each of the seven weeks during the period of the phono- 
graphic test, showing in respect of the phonograph the percentage of increase of rate 
of output of each week over the week next preceding. Said table discloses a steady 
increase in output by the phonographic method, although at the outset the rate was 
slightly below that of the stenographers, thus showing beyond contradiction, so far 
as the work of my office is concerned, twice the amount of correspondence can be 
produced in the same time. 

RECOMMENDATION. 

With the installation in this division of a suitable number of dictating machines, 
at a cost of less than $2,500, I can reduce the force of my division immediately by 
six persons, which will effect a saving in salaries of about $6,000 per annum. 

This recommendation is based upon a prospective increased efficiency amounting 
to but 75 per cent of that indicated by the statistics of the test, and takes no account 
of the saving in time to the dictator nor of the probable increase of output which I 
believe to be inevitable through a continuance of the dictation-machine work. It is 
not at all likely that operators with only seven weeks' phonograph experience can be 
expected to reach the summit of their efficiency. With the installation of the 
machines recommended and further practice by the operators in their use, I hope to 
effect a further reduction in the force of this division. I am confident that if the test 
had been continued several more weeks the rate of output would have been consider- 
ably increased. I am informed that in the test conducted by the President's Com- 
mission on Economy and Efficiency with its own operative force, after three months' 
experience, the rate of output of the operators ranged from 45 to 55 words a minute. 
I believe approximately the same result could be obtained with my force. 

The estimate of the saving for the first year takes into consideration the initial outlay 
for the purchase of the machines. After the first year the expense would include only 
depreciation and the cost of material used. 

I further believe that if the opportunity had presented itself for centralizing in one 
section all of the letter writing produced by means of the talking machines the 
above showing would have been greatly increased. I am so firmly of the belief that 
the use of these phonographic dictating machines would be so distinctly in the interest 
of good administration that I desire to urge the purchase of a sufficient number to fully 
equip the Division of Rural Mails, as above stated. This can be done at a cost not to 
exceed $2,500. With the installation of these machines I am convinced that the reduc- 
tion in force above stated can be accomplished. 

Respectfully, George G. Thomson, 

Superintendent Division of Rural Mails, 
37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 35 



544 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Exhibit 2 F. 
report of navy department committee. 

August 11, 1911. 

The special committee of the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency, 
designated to make a personal examination of existing conditions in the Navy Depart- 
ment on the subject of handling and filing correspondence, submits the following pre- 
liminary recommendation for the consideration of the commission and the committee 
on economy and efficiency in that department. 

The special committee has held a number of meetings, some of which have been 
attended by a representative of the Navy Department committee, the chief clerk of 
the department, and the chief clerks of the various bureaus and offices. The members 
of the special committee have examined the methods employed in handling and filing 
correspondence in several of the bureaus and offices of the department and have per- 
sonally consulted with representatives of such bureaus and offices in regard thereto. 
Conditions have been found which, it is believed, are susceptible of improvement 
at once without involving any radical change in the general method of conducting 
the business of the department. It is therefore deemed advisable to make an interim 
recommendation in order that the department may immediately gain the benefit of 
the changes suggested. This recommendation is aimed to accomplish the following 
results: » 

First. A change in the system of indorsements in use in the department whereby 
the slip form of indorsements will be discontinued and indorsements written on 
letter-size pages. 

Second. The discontinuance of all press copying and the use of carbon copies in lieu 
thereof. 

The committee is satisfied that a considerable saving in time and expense can be 
effected by the adoption of these changes. They in no way conflict or interfere with 
any system of indexing, recording, or riling correspondence now in use in the depart- 
ment, or with any system under consideration by the commission or its special com- 
mittee, and consequently can be placed in effect at once without prejudice to the views 
of the departmental committee or any bureau or office upon other questions which 
have been or may be suggested to or taken up by the special committee for discussion. 
No new equipment is required nor expense involved. Oq the contrary, the existing 
press-copying outfits and books and materials used in connection therewith can be 
dispensed with, thus providing space for other purposes. Furthermore, careful tests 
have been made which show that the time of officers and others spent in reading files 
of correspondence will be greatly lessened by the fact that the correspondence will be 
presented in more compact form than is the case at present. 

The special committee believes it has given consideration to every phase of the 
matter involved in the foregoing propositions, the principal points being as follows: 

1. Whether the indorsement system of communication might not be abandoned 
immediately and all communications be by letter. 

2. Whether the slip form or the letter-size sheet form of indorsements is preferable. 

3. Whether more than one indorsement should be placed on a page. 

4. Whether the sheets should be arranged so that the last indorsement will be on 
the top or the bottom of the file. 

5. Whether the subject of the file should be repeated in writing each indorsement. 

6. Whether pro forma indorsements should not be simplified by the use of a route 
card or form on which a simple notation could be made. 

7. Whether letters and indorsements should be written single or double spaced. 

8. Whether receiving stamps should be placed on the face or the reverse of pages. 

9. Whether carbon or press copies are the more desirable, considering their value as 
evidence, the time required for their making, their neatness, the facility with which 
they can be handled as a record, their permanence as a record, the liability of errors 
being uncorrected, the cost of paper, etc. 

10. Whether more than one record or file copy of outgoing correspondence is 
necessary. 

11. The grade and weight of paper for original and file copies of correspondence. 

12. Whether both sides of a page could be utilized. 

Upon these points the special committee has reached the following conclusions: 

1. The existing system of indorsements can not be abandoned at present, but may 
be curtailed and otherwise improved. 

2. The letter-size form is preferable. 

3. As many indorsements as possible should be placed on a page. 

4. The last indorsement should be at the end or bottom of the file. 

5. The subject should only be repeated where required to identify the file copy. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 545 

6. A route card is not desirable. 

7. Letters and indorsements should be single spaced, with a double space between 
paragraphs. 

8. Receiving stamps should be so placed as not to occupy any writing space. 

9. Carbon copies only should be made for the files. 

10. Only one file copy is necessary. 

11. A 4|-pound, 8 by 10| inch, white linen paper for originals and an inexpensive 
colored paper, such as "railroad manila, " for carbon copies, is recommended. 

12. Writing should be confined to one side of all pages. 

The special committee does not attempt to state in detail all of the considerations 
upon each question which led to the conclusions above stated, but is prepared to do 
so upon request. 

The various chief clerks were advised of the contemplated action of the special 
committee and invited to comment thereon. The comments received are transmitted 
herewith, together with a brief in answer to the objections made. 

A draft of a general order recommended for issue by the Navy Department as soon as 
convenient, placing in effect the changes recommended, is transmitted herewith. 

The general order issued by the Secretary of the Navy is as follows: 

"General Order! "Navy Department, 

No. 130. / "Washington, D. C, November 20, 1911. 

"1. Official letters and indorsements, initiated after the receipt of this order, will 
be written on 8 by 10^ inch white linen paper, weighing approximately 4h pounds per 
ream of 500 sheets of that size. The provisions of this order will not apply to corre- 
spondence already bearing slip indorsements. The use of paper 8 by 10i inches of 
the present weights will be continued until the supply on hand is exhausted. 

"2. The body of letters and indorsements, when typewritten, will be written single 
spaced, with one double space between paragraphs, in the form shown in examples 
forming a part of this order. Each indorsement will, where possible, be written on 
the same sheet as the preceding indorsement or letter, with a space of about 1 inch 
intervening. 

"3. The subject of a letter will be stated concisely at the beginning of the letter, 
according to the present practice, but will not be repeated at the beginning of each 
indorsement, except where required by the filing system of the writer's office to identify 
the file copy. 

"4. Stamps showing the date of receiving papers must be so placed as not to occupy 
any writing space. If stamps constituting pro forma indorsements, such as 'Received 
and forwarded,' 'Forwarded, contents noted,' 'Referred for action,' etc., are used, 
they will be placed on the face of pages as though written in a more formal manner. 

"5. Paper used for letters and indorsements will have two holes punched in it, 
one-half inch from the top and 1 inch from the right and left hand margins, in order 
that indorsements may be uniformly fastened to the correspondence and to permit 
easy removal for continuing the indorsement until the sheet is filled. 

"6. After December 31, 1911, the making of press copies of letters and indorsements 
will be discontinued, and carbon copies in sufficient number will be made in lieu 
thereof for the files of the writer's office, the name of the signing officer to be stamped 
or otherwise placed thereon. Until that date the use of press or carbon copies will be 
optional. Record typewriter ribbons will be used in lieu of copying ribbons after the 
discontinuance of press copying. 

"7. After the present supply is exhausted a green-tinted paper weighing approxi- 
mately 3 pounds per ream of 500 sheets, 8 by 10£ inches in size, will be used for carbon 
copies. 

"8. As a general rule, a letter from one office to another will be answered by a 
separate letter and not by indorsement on the original. These instructions are not 
intended to prevent the use of stamped or written indorsements on papers or reports 
of which copies are not retained, or to prevent the use of indorsements on papers 
necessarily referred to several bureaus or offices; they are intended to prevent the 
practice of having an original letter returned to the writer by an indorsement con- 
taining the report or information requested, and having in the indorsement a request 
for the return of the papers to the office or person to which they were originally sent, 
as this procedure necessitates increased clerical work in copying the indorsement, and 
requires the papers to be mailed three times. If the original letter is answered by a 
separate letter, each office has a complete record of the correspondence without extra 
work, and the papers are sent through the mails twice instead of three times. 

"G. v. L. Meyer, 

"Secretary of the Navy." 



546 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Exhibit 3 F. 

report of treasury department committee. 

September 22, 1911. 
After a study of the reports upon the subject submitted to the President's Commis- 
sion on Economy and Efficiency, and a personal examination of the methods employed 
in the various bureaus and offices of the department, the committee has reached the 
following conclusions : 

1. That all correspondence should be filed flat in a vertical file. 

2. That briefing upon the back of correspondence should be discontinued. 

3. That carbon copies should constitute the record of outgoing correspondence 
instead of press copies. 

4. That the sequence of letters in a file of correspondence should be chronological, 
with the most recent letter on top. 

5. That all the correspondence of the department, both incoming and copies of 
outgoing, should be filed together, upon a subjective classification arranged as nearly 
as may be upon a self-indexing basis; and where numbers are regarded as essential 
that a logical arrangement of the same under the decimal system should be employed; 
that, as a part of the scheme of classification when correspondence concerns objects 
of expenditures the file number shall follow the classification of objects of Government 
expenditure set forth in circular 19 of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency, 
and circular 36 of the Treasury Department, dated June 21, 1911. 

6. That no record of incoming or outgoing correspondence should be made except 
where absolutely essential, and that all bound-book registers of correspondence 
received and sent should be discontinued. 

The committee has held 38 meetings from July 3 to date, during which period they 
visited 30 offices, some of them a number of times. 

At the outset the committee reached the conclusion that it would be inadvisable, 
if not impracticable, to attempt to devise a uniform plan of classification for the corre- 
spondence of the en the department. The business as well as the necessities of the 
offices, from the standpoint of frequent or rare consultation of papers and files used, are 
very diverse. In some offices papers after being disposed of initially are filed away 
permanently; in others the papers in the files constitute the working materials of the 
office and are in constant use; they are coming out and going into the files daily. On 
account of this situation it has been necessary for us in our study of the operations and 
business of each office, from the standpoint of devising a simple and practical system of 
handling and filing correspondence, to be guided mainly by the condition peculiar 
to the office. 

Notwithstanding the above-mentioned diversity in nature of business in the various 
bureaus and divisions and consequent difference in methods pursued, the committee 
is of the belief that the general principles or recommendations above stated have 
application to the Treasury Department as a whole and should be presented to you for 
approval in advance of the submission of reports and recommendations for each specific 
office of your department. These reports are in process of preparation, but since the 
recommendations contained therein are based upon the general principles above 
outlined, it is deemed advisable to secure your approval to those recommendations 
in advance of the submission of the report covering the different bureaus and divisions. 

As soon as your approval of the above recommendation is secured, the committee 
will immediately proceed to the completion of its report on each office, and submit 
the same to you. 

In order to obtain the best results in our inquiry upon the subject of handling and 
filing correspondence in each bureau and division, it is requested that direction shall 
be given to each bureau and division to select a representative familiar with the organi- 
zations and functions of the office and the method employed in handling correspond- 
ence to cooperate with us in the consideration of the operations of and methods pur- 
sued in the division and the development of our ideas and recommendations in regard 
thereto. In pursuance of this plan it is the purpose of the committee as its specific 
ideas arise in respect to the operations of a particular office to present those ideas to 
the office with the request that the person designated to cooperate with us shall sub- 
mit to the committee in writing a statement giving his ideas as to the probable results 
of a change which the committee has in mind, so that if the idea is impracticable , by 
reason of some feature of the local situation, concerning which we had no information, 
the idea or any part of it, so far as it relates to the office, may quickly be dismissed 
and the committee not waste its time pursuing something which might prove to be 
futile. If this plan is followed the committee will not only secure the cooperation of 



KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION OX ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 547 

persons familiar with the functions and organization of each office in which it operates, 
but by reason of immediately stating its position and explaining its ideas to those at 
the head of each division the operations of the committee will be hastened and those 
in the office most directly concerned will not be kept in the dark as to the recom- 
mendations the committee has in mind. Furthermore, the natural tendency of an 
office being against a change in the existing order of things will secure a careful and 
full statement of any objection to or embarrassment which would be likely to arise 
if a change were made . 

Exhibit 4 F. 
report of department of agriculture committee. 

October 25, 1911. 

The special committee of the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency, 
designated to make a personal examination of existing conditions in the Department 
of Agriculture in the handling and filing of correspondence, submits the following 
preliminary report and recommendations for the consideration of the commission and 
the committee on economy and efficiency in that department: 

The committee believes that the first consideration should be given to the system 
of recording and filing correspondence in use in the several bureaus of the department 
as affording the widest opportunity for the introduction of methods which will result 
immediately in lessening the cost of operation. Several meetings have been held, 
one of which was attended by representatives of the Bureau of Plant Industry, the 
Bureau of Animal Industry, the Bureau of Chemistry, the Weather Bureau, and the 
Forest Service. At this meeting the possibility of filing all correspondence under a 
subjective system was fully discussed, and each of these bureaus, with the exception 
of the Forest Service, which already files only subjectively, was requested to furnish 
the committee with a list of subjects included in the correspondence now filed numer- 
ically, in order that the committee might reach a conclusion as to whether or not a 
change from the numerical to the subjective system is practicable and should be 
recommended. These lists have been received, and after going over them the com- 
mittee believes that subjective systems of filing can be used in all of the bureaus with 
at least equal efficiency in the handling of the files and with a marked decrease in the 
cost of maintaining them. 

As a result of its investigations the committee has reached the following conclusions : 

1. That no book or card record of incoming or outgoing correspondence should be 
made except where absolutely essential; and particularly that all bound-book registers 
of correspondence received and sent should be discontinued. 

2. That the briefing of correspondence should be discontinued. 

3. That carbon copies should constitute the record of outgoing correspondence, and 
that press copying should be discontinued. 

4. That all the correspondence of the several bureaus, both incoming and copies of 
outgoing should be filed upon a subjective classification arranged as nearly as possible 
on a self-indexing basis, and, where numbers are regarded as essential, that a logical 
arrangement of numbers under the decimal system should be employed. 

5. That, where it is now emploved, the system of folding correspondence and filing 
in document files be discontinued, and that all correspondence be filed flat. 

6. That all correspondence should be filed in vertical files, except where bureaus 
now use for alphabetic files furniture which is especially designed for horizontal 
and not vertical filing; but that no new furniture designed for horizontal filing should 
be purchased. 

On account of the diversity of the business and needs of the different bureaus of the 
department it is evident to the committee that no attempt can be made to devise a 
uniform plan of classification for the correspondence of the entire department, but that 
in its recommendations it must be guided by the conditions peculiar to each bureau 
or office. It is believed, however, that the general principles recommended above 
apply to the department as a whole and should be presented for approval in advance 
of reports and recommendations for each bureau or office. As soon as these general 
principles are approved the committee will proceed to the completion of its reports 
and recommendations regarding the several bureaus of the department. 



548 EEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Exhibit 5 F. 
report op post office department committee. 

November 9, 1911. 

The special committee designated to make a personal examination of existing 
conditions in the Post Office Department in the handling and filing of correspondence, 
submits the following preliminary report and recommendations for the consideration 
of the President's commission and the committee on economy and efficiency in that 
department: 

After a study of the nature of the business of the Post Office Department, and exami- 
nation of the systems employed in the handling and filing of correspondence, the 
committee has reached the conclusion that it would be impracticable to attempt to 
devise a uniform plan of classification for the correspondence of the entire department. 

The business of the various bureaus and divisions has not sufficient relation to make 
a uniform plan practicable. On account of this situation it has been necessary for us 
in our study of the operations and business of each office from the standpoint of a 

f>ractical system of handling and filing correspondence to be guided mainly by the 
ocal conditions. 

Notwithstanding the diversity in the nature of the business of the bureaus and 
divisions and consequent difference in methods followed, the committee is of belief 
that certain general principles have application to the Post Office Department as a 
whole, and should be presented for approval in advance of the submission of specific 
reports or recommendations for each particular office of the department. 
These principles, stated in the form of recommendations, are as follows: 

1. That the system of folding correspondence and filing in document files be dis- 
continued, and that all correspondence be filed flat. 

2. That the briefing of correspondence be discontinued. 

3. That no book or card record of incoming or outgoing correspondence be made 
except where absolutely essential; and particularly that all bound book registers of 
correspondence received and sent be discontinued. 

4. That the correspondence of the several bureaus and offices of the department, 
both incoming and copies of outgoing, be filed upon a subjective classification arranged 
as nearly as possible upon a self -indexing basis; and, where numbers are regarded as 
essential, that a logical arrangement of numbers under a decimal or analogous system 
be employed. 

5. That carbon copies constitute the record of outgoing correspondence, and that 
press copying be discontinued. 

Specific reports covering each bureau and division are in course of preparation, 
but since they are based upon the general principles above outlined, it is deemed 
advisable to secure approval of those principles in advance of the submission of such 
reports. 

As soon as approval of the above recommendations is secured, the committee will 
immediately proceed to the completion of its reports on each office and submit the 
same. 



Exhibit 6 F. 

report of department of interior committee. 

February 9, 1912. 
The special committee on handling and filing correspondence in the Department of 
the Interior submits the following preliminary report and recommendations: 

1. That the practice of folding correspondence for filing be discontinued, and that 
all correspondence, papers, and documents be filed flat. 

2. That the briefing of correspondence be discontinued. 

3. That no bound book, or card record, reference, abstract, or index be kept of 
incoming or outgoing mail matter or correspondence. 

4. That carbon copies constitute the sole record of outgoing correspondence, and 
that press copies be discontinued in every instance except where the number of 
copies required by the exigencies of the service renders the making legible simulta- 
neous carbon copies impossible. 

5. That the use of dictation machines in some bureaus of the department would 
conserve practical economies. 

6. That only one permanent file be maintained in each bureau or office for official 
papers, and that said file be made the repository of all correspondence, original and 
copies, of sufficient importance to warrant preservation. 



BEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 549 

7. That the matter to be filed be classified or arranged in a systematic manner 
either upon a self-indexing basis or upon a logical numerical basis, so that the arrange- 
ment of numbers serves a practical purpose in fixing location in files and of identifi- 
cation of the papers. # The practice of assigning separate and distinct numbers to each 
communication relating to same case or subject matter should be discontinued, and 
all papers relating to the same case or subject matter should be congregated into one 
file under one index or number so as to facilitate the physical act of the filing and 
the finding of papers when wanted. 

To prevent the accumulation of worthless papers, all communications to which a 
reply fixes a finality to their purpose and usefulness should be either returned to 
writer or destroyed in order to obviate the necessity and to relieve the Government 
from the growing burden and expense of providing storage for a lot of waste paper. 

A very relevant and convincing example of what may be and has been accom- 
plished in this line is afforded by the action of the Bureau of Pensions, which has to 
date either sold or destroyed 213 long tons of waste papers, vacating nine or ten rooms, 
without detriment to the transaction of public business and without violence to the 
convenience and material interests of the many claimants. 

There are innumerable ramifications in the prevailing methods of conducting cor- 
respondence in the several bureaus of the Interior Department. The process of 
handling the same is in many instances intricate and cumbersome. To bring about 
a change of procedure and to put into operation the essentials necessary to the prac- 
tical development of a new scheme demand the hearty cooperation and the enthu- 
siasm of the individuals charged with the responsibility of instituting and the devel- 
opment and the successful adaptation of the recommendations and suggestions of 
your committee. They are the persons who must symbolize the system; must 
dominate the situation; and upon whose sustained efforts the ultimate success or 
failure of any system finds lodgment and the public business reaps a compensatory 
benefit. The possibilities are inviting and a successful consummation of inestimable 
value to the efficiency and economy of the service. 

One comparative situation will serve to present an illustration of the disparity in 
cost of filing prevailing in the department. In one bureau about 14 per cent of the 
force is engaged in the files, while in another only about 6 per cent is so engaged. 

To the want of logical arrangement of the several divisions in some of the older 
bureaus of the department, suggested by a reasonable and natural correlation of recip- 
rocal interests, may be charged much of the lost motion and extravagant operation. 

Your committee, through its chairman, called upon the heads of the various bureaus 
of the department, and received from them the printed and mimeographed forms 
now in use. Of these there is a multiplicity, varied in character, and used for both 
internal and outgoing correspondence. 

They have been carefully examined and the conclusion reached that great improve- 
ment in expression, simplicity, and style could be made in many of the forms, and 
to this end it is recommended that a committee be appointed in each bureau to be 
composed of at least five persons who have a wide range of knowledge of the affairs of 
their respective bureaus, and who can, in conjunction with chiefs of division con- 
cerned, determine the necessity for the use or discontinuance of blank forms. 

This committee should organize, elect officers, and keep minutes of the proceedings 
of all meetings. One of the first duties of such committees after organization should 
be to thoroughly canvass, revise, continue, or discontinue, the forms now in use, after 
which meetings should be held at regular stated intervals to pass upon and approve 
or disapprove all new forms, or changes in old forms, submitted; and further, the com- 
mittee should determine the number of blanks to be ordered and authorize the 
printing, and in no case, because of the constant changes in the needs of the service, 
should more than a year's supply be approved. There have been cases where as 
much as 50 years' supply has been authorized; such condition is manifestly wrong 
and should not exist. 

A revision and a rearrangement of the forms by concentrating the space for insert- 
ing information would result in a saving of time of both the reviewing officer and the 
stenographer. 

Information in concentrated form can be filled in and reviewed more rapidly than 
by skipping from space to space. 

Standardization would ensue from such revision and in many instances one 
''revised" form could be made, by the insertion of a word here and there, to serve 
the purpose of two or more forms. A striking illustration was brought to our atten- 
tion where one revised form took the place of 18 similar forms. 

We found that such a committee as indicated above has been operating success- 
fully in the Bureau of Pensions since February 14, 1906. From that date to June 18, 
1907, 83 meetings were held; all blank forms, books, envelopes, and paper were 



550 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

carefully and thoroughly gone over; forms were canceled, new forms adopted, and 
changes' made in old forms, with the result that in a total of 884 blanks, books, 
envelopes, and papers there was a net reduction in the number of forms of nearly 
34 per cent. This committee is now engaged upon a second canvass and to date it 
has considered 304 blanks out of a total of 540, with the result that by standardiza- 
tion and cancellation there has been a further reduction of 27 per cent. 

The results obtained in this bureau have clearly and emphatically demonstrated the 
value and efficiency of such committee. 

We recommend that in service correspondence, that is, correspondence originating 
in and directed to an office or officer of the Department of the Interior, the salutation 
and complimentary close be omitted and the title of the office or officer addressed, as 
well as the office or officer from which the communication emanates, be abbreviated. 

The above recommendation is based upon the following considerations: The 
reports made to your commission show that there are prepared in the Department of 
the Interior proper, approximately, 5,017,392 communications annually. It is 
estimated that a large percentage of these communications are between Government 
officers and employees. The salutation and complimentary close, that is, the 
expressions such as "Dear Sir" and "Very respectfully," taken by themselves seem 
of little moment from the standpoint of the saving which would be effected by their 
elimination. Any saving, however, in the way of simplification or abbreviation of 
method of conducting correspondence, no matter how slight, when multiplied by 
the hundred thousands of communications which are produced throughout the 
department, is an element of considerable importance, and the elimination of it would 
effect a saving of quite a large amount. 

The elements of a letter in the order in which they customarily appear are as follows: 

(1) The title and location of the person or office from which the letter emanates. 

(2) The date. 

(3) The name, title, and location of the person addressed. 

(4) The salutation. 

(5) The body of the communication. 

(6) The complimentary close. 

(7) The signature. 

(8) The title of the person signing. 

The essential elements of a letter are the date, the person or office from which the 
letter emanates, the person to whom the letter is sent, the body of the communication, 
and the signature. The salutation and the complimentary close add nothing to the 
letter from the standpoint of transacting the business of the department. These 
elements, serving no practical purpose, could be eliminated without detriment to the 
public business and at a considerable saving of time and expense. 

The other elements in a letter being essential can not be eliminated but they can 
be much abbreviated: For instance, the title of the person from whom the communica- 
tion emanates is usually stated twice, namely, on the letterhead and below the signa- 
ture. Stating this information once serves the practical purpose of the letter. Further- 
more, the title of the official to whom the letter is sent, frequently long and usually 
spelled out in full, could be abbreviated and time as well as space could be saved. 
This idea is best explained by setting forth a hypothetical case, comparing the present 
procedure in this department with that proposed. 

Say, for example, the Secretary of the Interior desired to instruct or direct the Com- 
missioner of Pensions to have prepared for his consideration a statement showing the 
total number of invalid pensioners on account of service in the War with Spain, on 
the roll June 30, 1911. Under the present practice, a letter in the following form 
would be written: 
Honorable James L. Davenport, 

Commissioner of Pensions. 

Sir : Please have prepared for my consideration a statement showing the total num- 
ber of invalid pensioners on account of service in the War with Spain, on the roll June 
30, 1911. 

Very respectfully, 

W. L. Fisher, Secretary. 

Eliminating the salutation and complimentary close, as well as abbreviating the 
form, the letter would read as follows: 

Commissioner of Pensions: 

Prepare for me a statement showing number of invalid pensioners on account of 
service, War with Spain, on the roll June 30, 1911. 

Fisher. 



KEPOETS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 551 

Every practical purpose of the direction of trie Secretary to the commissioner is 
subserved by condensing the communication in the manner set forth in the second 
example. By the second method the equivalent of 17 words is saved over the first 
method. 

That this proposition is not based upon theory only is seen by the fact that several 
foreign governments in some of their departments have actually eliminated from their 
correspondence the salutation and complimentary close, as well as abbreviated titles 
of their public officers. In the United States some large corporations are doing the 
same thing. One of the greatest railroad companies in America, whose methods were 
studied by two members of your committee, is simplifying its correspondence to the 
extent of eliminating the salutation and complimentary close as well as employing 
initials of the individual from whom the letter emanates and to whom it is addressed in 
correspondence within certain divisions of its service. This is being done as an experi- 
ment and is meeting with such success that its use promises to be extended all over 
the system. In one of the largest mail-order houses of the country, in which are pre- 
pared from seventeen to twenty-three thousand letters per day, the salutation is 
omitted from all correspondence the company has with the public . The natural opinion 
would be that a concern soliciting business from the public would be guided upon 
courtesy or to such an extent as to leave the salutation in. The concern, however, 
has evidently reached the conclusion that system in its business would be appreciated 
by the public quite as much as unnecessary formality. 

In the German Navy, as well as in our own Navy Department, the salutation and 
the complimentary close are omitted from correspondence within the service and 
the signing officer writes his last name only with omission of title below the signature. 
In the French Navy practically the same rule is followed. In the British Navy sim- 
plification and abbreviation have been carried further than is here proposed. 

Wilson E. Wilmot, 
F. H. Tonsmeire, 
W. 0. Deatrick, 

Of the Committee. 

The foregoing report and recommendations are concurred in with the exception of 
paragraph 1. 

With respect to this paragraph we favor the general proposition of discontinuing 
folding correspondence for filing, and of filing all correspondence, papers, and docu- 
ments flat, excepting the Bureau of Pensions from the operation of this rule because 
of the unusual conditions which obtain in said bureau; the large expense which 
would necessarily be incurred and the absence of any accruing 'future benefits or 
economies are potent reasons for our position. 

The subject of flat filing of papers in claims for pension has been given careful con- 
sideration and has been discussed in detail by the members of the committee, and 
there is a wide difference of opinion as to the practicability of changing from the 
present to the flat filing system. 

It has beer; suggested that the flat file be made use of on and after a certain date and 
not attempt to convert the claims already on file to the proposed systen . This would 
be in direct opposition to paragraph 6, upon which we have unanimously agreed, and 
which provides '"that only one permanent file be maintained in each bureau or office 
for official papers," etc. The adoption of flat file in the Bureau of Pensions would 
therefore necessitate the operation and maintenance of two permanent systems of 
filing. 

This subject has also been discussed with the experts on filing in the Bureau of 
Pensions, and it is the universal opinion that the flat file could not be worked as satis- 
factorily and economically as the present system. The minority is of the opinion that 
the matter of installing flat file in this bureau be submitted to the executive officers 
of the department and bureau for consideration and determination. 

L. B. Stine, 
A. K. Meek, 

Of the Committee. 

Exhibit 7 F. 

report of department of commerce axd labor committee. 

March 2. 1912. 
The special committee created for the purpose of making an inquiry into the methods 
of handling and filing correspondence in the Department of Commerce and Labor 
submits the following preliminary report and recommendations for the consideration 



552 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY, 

of the President's commission and the committee on economy and efficiency in that 
department: 

After study of the reports upon the subject submitted to the President's com- 
mission and a personal examination of the methods employed in some of the bureaus 
and offices of the department, the committee has reached the following conclusions: 

The following are adopted as fundamental principles: 

1. That all correspondence should be filed flat in vertical files. 

2. That no briefing upon the back of correspondence should be permitted. 

3. That no bound book registers of correspondence received and sent be permitted. 
The committee finds that these principles are in practice in every bureau and office 

in the Department of Commerce and Labor, and they are set forth here simply that the 
attitude of the committee be definitely stated. 

4. That no book or card record of incoming or outgoing correspondence be made 
except where absolutely necessary. 

5. That the correspondence of the several bureaus and offices of the department, 
both incoming and copies of outgoing, be filed wherever practicable upon a subject 
classification, arranged as nearly as possible upon a self-indexing basis; and where file 
numbers are regarded as essential therewith, that such numbers be according to a 
logical arrangement under a decimal or analogous system, to insure the proper group- 
ing of all correspondence upon each subject. 

6. That carbon copies constitute the record of outgoing correspondence, and that 
press copying be discontinued except in such instances as the secretary shall expressly 
except, owing to the peculiar needs of two or three offices. 

As to recommendations made in paragraphs numbered 4, 5, and 6, the committee 
finds that many of the filing offices have already put these principles into successful 
practice, although not in all cases as methodically as possible, so that with the formal 
approval of these recommendations but little work will remain to effect as complete 
uniformity as is possible in the various offices of this department. 

7. We are of opinion that the dictation machine can be used to advantage in some 
of the bureaus of the department. We recommend that this committee be authorized 
to institute tests in cooperation with bureaus desiring to ascertain the practicability 
of the use of the dictation machine for correspondence, and that appropriate statistics 
be kept during the progress of such tests to show the ratio of output by the use of the 
dictation machine, as compared to the output by the stenographic method. 

8. We are of opinion that many forms used in connection with correspondence can 
be improved by a rearrangement that will concentrate the filled-in information or 
data into one ample space instead of being scattered throughout the form. Such an 
arrangement saves time in two ways: (1) The reviewing officer or employee can see 
at a glance, because of its compactness and definite location, everything that has been 
filled in by the typewriter, without loss of time in reading any part of the printed 
form, and without long skips. (2) The typewriter can fill in such a form more rapidly 
if the information is concentrated in one place and is written straight-away than if 
he has to skip from place to place to insert words or items. 

We recommend the designation of a representative from each bureau and division 
of the department who has knowledge of the purpose and use of the forms used in 
connection with correspondence in his office, to collect such forms and to cooperate 
with this committee in rearranging the matter thereof in the manner suggested, 
so that the committee can make suitable recommendations regarding the correspond- 
ence forms of each office. 

9. We recommend that in all service correspondence, that is, all correspondence 
originating in and directed to an office or officer of the Department of Commerce and 
Labor, whether the officer addressed be higher or lower in position than the officer 
or employee writing the letter, the following rules be prescribed: 

(a) That the salutation and complimentary close be omitted. 

(6) That the name of the official or employee addressed be omitted and the address 
consist exclusively of the title wherever such title is sufficiently exclusive and dis- 
tinctive as to cause no error or confusion. ("Official" is used herein to designate 
administrative officers appointed by the President, and "employee" to designate all 
below such rank, and to include chief clerks of all grades, chiefs of offices, divisions, 
sections, stations, etc.). This recommendation is designed to eliminate all useless 
writing of names; but names must of course be used where titles are not sufficiently 
exclusive. 

(c) That all purely formal or ceremonial phrases at the beginning or end of com- 
munications, such as, "I have the honor," "I would respectfully," "I have the honor 
to be, etc.," be omitted. (These are used only to a small extent in this department.) 

(d) That only the last name of the signing official or supervising employee be used, 
and that the full name or initials be employed only where necessary to prevent 
confusion. 



REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 553 

(e) That the title of the signing official be omitted after his signature, wherever the 
letterhead clearly indicates this title. This rule would require the use of the title 
in cases like the following: (1) When the signature is that of an acting official. (2) 
When the letterhead has simply the name of the bureau, division, service, or station, 
and affords no evidence of the title or designation of the signing official or employee. 

(/) That the department prescribe a standard list of abbreviations or shortened 
titles for use in cases where the exact titles are cumbersome; for example, Supervising 
Inspector-General, Steamboat-Inspection Service. 

The ninth recommendation is based upon the following considerations: 

The reports made to the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency on 
the subject of handling and riling correspondence show that there are dictated to and 
prepared by stenographers and typewriters in the Department of Commerce and 
Labor in Washington approximately two million communications annually. It is 
believed to be a reasonable estimate that three-fourths of this number, or say one and 
one-half millions, are "service" communications; that is to say communications 
between Government officers and employees. Any saving, no matter how slight, in 
the way of simplification and abbreviation of correspondence, when multiplied by 
1,500,000, becomes an element of considerable importance, and the elimination of 
useless words and phrases would in the aggregate effect a saving of large amounts. 

The elements of a letter in the order in which they customarily appear are as follows: 

1. The title and location of the person or office from which the letter emanates. 

2. The date. 

3. The name, title, and location of the person addressed. 

4. The salutation. 

5. The body of the communication. 

6. The complimentary close. 

7. The signature. 

8. The title of the person signing. 

The essential elements of a letter are the date, the person from whom or office from 
which the letter emanates, the person or officer to whom the letter is sent, the body 
of the communication, and the signature. The salutation, such as "Dear Sir," and 
the complimentary close, such as "Very respectfully," add nothing to the letter 
from the standpoint of transacting the business of the Government. These elements 
serve no practical purpose and can be eliminated without detriment to the public 
business and at a considerable saving of time and expense. 

Considerable saving can also be made in the other elements of the letter. For 
example, the title of the person from whom the communication emanates is usually 
stated twice — first, in the letterhead, and again below the signature. Stating this 
information once serves the practical purposes of the letter, especially as the official 
position of the writer is well known to the person addressed. Also, the name of the 
official or person addressed may frequently be omitted, with more advantage than 
the mere saving of time; and the longer titles can well be abbreviated. The follow- 
ing fictitious letter (which is supposed to be on the letterhead of the chief clerk of 
the department), written in the common and then in the simplified form, will illus- 
trate the saving recommended by the committee: 

February 1, 1912. 
Mr. Wilbur W. Fowler, 

Chief, Division of Supplies. 

Dear Sir: Please prepare for the Secretary a report, with totals by fiscal years 
and by bureaus and divisions, showing the expenditure for vertical filing furniture 
for offices in Washington, from the organization of the department to June 30, 1911. 
Very truly yours, 

R. M. Pindell, Chief Cleric. 

Simplified form: 

Feb. 1, 1912. 
Chief, Division op Supplies: 

Please prepare for the Secretary a report, with totals by fiscal years and by bureaus 
and divisions, showing the expenditure for vertical filing furniture for offices in Wash- 
ington, from the organization of the department to June 30, 1911. 

Pindell. 

Every practical purpose of the communication is as well subserved in the second 
form as in the first, and 13 words or initials are saved. (Thirteen times 1,500,000 
would be 19,500,000 words and initials, or enough to use up the time of one typewriter, 
at full speed, for three to five years.) The estimate of 1,500,000 "service" letters 
includes only letters prepared in the department in Washington; the incoming 
"service" letters from the field service would add nearly a million to these figures. 



554 KEPOKTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

That this proposition is not based upon theory alone is evident from the factjthat 
several foreign Governments in some of their large departments have actually elimi- 
nated from their correspondence the salutation and complimentary close, as well as 
abbreviated titles of their public officers. In the United States some large corpora- 
tions are doing the same thing. One of the greatest railroad companies in America, 
whose methods were examined by two members of your committee, is simplifying its 
correspondence to the extent of eliminating the salutation and complimentary close 
and also employing only the initials of the individual from whom the letter emanates 
and to whom it is addressed in correspondence within certain divisions of its service. 
This is being done as an experiment and is meeting with such success that its use will 
probably be extended all over the system. In one of the largest mail-order houses of 
the country, in which are prepared from 17,000 to 23,000 letters a day, the salutation is 
omitted from all correspondence the company has with the public . The natural opinion 
would be that a concern soliciting business from the public would be guided by 
courtesy or formality to such extent as to leave the salutation in the letter. The 
concern, however, has evidently reached the conclusion that system in its business 
would be appreciated by the public quite as much as unnecessary formality. 
f& In the German Navy, as well as in our own Navy Department, the salutation and 
the complimentary close are omitted from correspondence within the service, and the 
signing officer writes his last name only, with omission of title below the signature. 
In the French Navy practically the same rule is followed. In the British Navy sim- 
plification and abbreviation have been carried further than is here proposed. 



Appendix No. 8 



CENTRALIZATION OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF 
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS 



555 



CENTRALIZATION OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT 

PUBLICAIIONS. 



[Supplemental statement submitted by the Commission on Economy and Efficiency, Feb. 29, 1912.] 

It is the opinion of the commission that if the plan outlined in its 
report to the President dated December 4, 1911, recommending the 
centralization of the distribution of publications at the Government 
Printing Office, which was transmitted to Congress with the message 
of the President, dated February 5, 1912, is carried out, that the 
appropriations for the various departments and establishments for 
the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1912, could be reduced as follows: 

[Under the head of "Material, supplies and special services," is included the cost of conveying matter by 
truck, team, or otherwise, from the Government Printing Office to the various departments and estab- 
lishments and from the departments and establishments to the Post Office, and from the Post Office to ' 
the Union Station.] 





Salaries. 


Materials, 
supplies, 

and special 
services. 


Total. 


Treasury 


$3, 979. 59 

3,238.18 

617. 95 

2,512.90 

6,408.61 

100, 911. 23 

26,960.73 

2,872.00 

3, 794. 16 

316. 45 

3,587.01 

27, 540. 00 


81, 680. 29 

2,294.90 

416. 58 


$5,659.88 
5, 533. 08 


War 


Justice 


1.034.53 




2,120.13 ! 4,633.03 

4,349.29 1 10,757.90 

36,689.61 ! 137,600.84 

18,632.31 | 45,593.04 

1,414.0.0 ! 4,286.00 

7,482.56 | 11,276.72 

959.00 | 1,255.45 

2,409.76 5,996.77 






Commerce and Labor 






Civil Sendee Commission 


Smithsonian Institute 


Washington Post Office 


7,250.00 34,790.00 






Total annual reduction in departmental and independent 


182,738.81 


1 
85, 678. 43 268. 417. 24 









In preparing the foregoing figures no consideration has been given 
to the saving which might result from the more direct handling of 
publications now mailed from the Capitol, the Senate and House 
Office Buildings, and the Congressional Library. No attempt has 
been made to estimate this saving. That it is large is shown by the 
fact that actual weights taken at the Post Office at Washington 
during 31 days in the months of February and March, 1911, of all 
mail matter received from the Capitol and the House and Senate 
Office Buildings, showed an average of 21 tons handled per day. 

557 



558 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION" ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 

Ill order that the Government Printing Office may carry on this 
entire work, it will be necessary to increase the annual expenditures 
at the Government Printing Office as follows : 





Salaries. 


Materials, 
supplies, 

and special 
services. 


Total. 


Government Printing Office: 

Estimated cost of distributing documents to the departments 

and establishments during the year ending June 30, 1912 — 

Estimate of expenditures under proposed consolidation 


$44,017.19 
62, 542. 00 


$15, 231. 57 
22, 409. 00 


$59,248.76 
84,951.00 




18, 524. SI 


7, 177. 43 


25, 702. 24 









RECAPITULATION. 

All departments and establishments: 

Reduction in estimates for year beginning July 1, 1912 

Increases in estimates for Government Printing Office for year 
beginning July 1, 1912 

Net annual reduction in appropriations beginning July 1, 
1912 



$182, 738. 81 
18,524.81 



164,214.00 



$85, 678. 43 
7, 177. 43 



78, 501. 00 



$268, 417. 24 
25, 702. 24 



242, 715. 00 



It is recommended that the necessary legislation be enacted to 
place the entire work of distributing documents under the direction 
of the Public Printer beginning July 1, 1912. 



Appendix No. 9 



THE USE OF THE OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION OF THE 
GOVERNMENT PREPARED BY THE COMMISSION AS 
A MEANS FOR SHOWING CURRENTLY ORGANIZA- 
TION CONDITIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT 



37542— H. Doc. 670, 62-2 36 559 



COPY OF LETTER SENT TO HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS AND INDE- 
PENDENT ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: I am transmitting herewith (a) a copy 
of House Document No. 458, Sixty-second Congress, second session, 
containing my message to Congress of January IT, 1912, and the re- 
port of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency on the organization 
of the Government as it existed July 1, 1911; and (b) a supple- 
mental report by the commission, recommending that certain steps 
be taken for the purpose of providing that the outline of organiza- 
tion of the Government prepared by it be made the basis of a system 
by which full and detailed information will at all times be available 
regarding the manner in which the Government is organized for 
conducting its work. 

These recommendations have my full approval, and it is my desire 
that the departments and establishments immediately enter upon the 
work of carrying them into execution. 

It is probable that some difficulties will be encountered in putting 
this comprehensive plan into effect. It is of the utmost importance 
that the work be done along uniform lines by all the departments 
and establishments. This can be secured only by joint action. To 
this end will you please designate a representative of your depart- 
ment who, with similar representatives of other departments and 
establishments, will confer with the Commission on Economy and 
Efficiency in respect to the prosecution of the work. I have asked 
the commission to render all aid in its power in carrying out this 
undertaking. 

Sincerely, yours, Wm. H. Taft. 

The White House, March 28, 1912. * 

561 



USE OF OUTLINE OF ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. 



March 20. 1912. 

The President: On November 27, 1911, the commission submitted 
a report on the organization of the Government as it existed July 1, 
1911. This report was transmitted to Congress with the President's 
message of January 17, 1912, and was published with the message 
in House Document No. 458. 

The organization of the Government is shown in great detail in 
the report by means of an outline. This outline was constructed on 
the loose-leaf principle so as to permit of its being currently revised 
as changes in organization take place. In submitting the outline the 
commission, in its report, stated: 

This report has been prepared with two definite objects in view — (1) to 
secure and present the information that is essential for any detailed critical 
study of the manner in which the Government is organized, and (2) to furnish 
this information in such a way that it can be kept constantly revised to date 
with little or no expense and thus be at all times available to officers of the 
Government for use in the current administration of affairs. 

Following this the commission pointed out in some detail the 
various ways in which a current record of organization conditions 
of this character could be made to serve a valuable purpose in the 
practical administration of public affairs. It concluded its report 
with the following paragraphs: 

In conclusion, the commission desires again to emphasize the fact that much 
of the value of the present report will be lost unless the outlines of organiza- 
tion are adopted as the basis for a system that will furnish a record of the 
manner in which the Government is organized, in such a way that the informa- 
tion will be available at all times, not only to the services themselves but to all 
persons interested in the conduct of Government affairs. To attain this end 
three things are necessary. 

In the first place, each department, bureau, and service should at once take 
its part of the outline and so extend it as to show the number of employees, 
according to their service titles and rate of compensation, falling under each 
organization unit. It should do what the commission has done in that part of 
the outline pertaining to the District of Columbia. Here, as has been pointed 
out, the commission has carried the outline to its logical conclusion by indicat- 
ing the number, title, and compensation of all employees working under each 
organization unit. The following copy of the sheet of the outline pertaining 
to the Home for the Aged and Infirm shows the character of the iuformation 
that will thus be rendered available regarding each administrative subdivision 
and each institution constituting a part of the government of the District of 
Columbia. 



1. Board of Commissioners. 
2. Commissioner. 

20. Home for the Aged and Infirm 

1. Superintendent 

2. Medical department — 

1. Physician 

2. Nurse 

3. Housekeeping — 

1. Matron 

2. Cook 

3. Baker 

4. Male attendants 

5. Cook 

6. Female attendants 



Number. 


Salary. 


1 


SI. 200 


1 


480 


1 


360 


1 


600 


1 


600 


1 


540 


2 


360 


1 


300 


2 


300 



Reference 
page. 



563 



564 REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 





Number. 


Salary. 


Reference 
page. 


1. 


Board of Commissioners -Continued. 
2. Commissioner— Continued. 

20. Home for the Aged and Infirm— Continued. 
3. Housekeeping— Continued. 
7. Seamstress 


1 
1 
3 

1 
3 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
3 

1 
1 
1 
1 


$240 
180 

144 

540 
360 
360 
240 

900 
720 
480 
300 

900 
540 
540 

360 






8. Cook 






9. Servants 






4. Garden, farm, and stables— 
1. Farmer 






2. Farm hands 






3. Dairyman 






4. Hostler and driver 






5. Care of building— 

i . Engineer 






2. Engineer 






3. Engineer 






4. Engineers 






6. Miscellaneous— 

1. Clerk 






2. Blacksmith and woodworker 

3. Laundryman 










4. Tailor 











It is hardly necessary to point out how valuable, indeed how indispensable, 
is information in this form, not only to the person in immediate charge, but 
particularly to superior administrative officials and to Congress, if adequate 
consideration is to be given to the problems presented in the administration of 
the service, in the framing of estimates, in the making of appropriations, and in 
the enactment of legislation for the conduct of the several divisions and institu- 
tions which go to make up the organization of any general service. 

In the second place, the policy must be adopted of keeping the outlines con- 
stantly revised to date. It was with a view to this that the outlines have been 
prepared on the loose-leaf plan. As changes take place in personnel or organi- 
zation it is a matter of but a few minutes' work to prepare the new sheets to 
show the changed conditions. These sheets can be made in duplicate, tripli- 
cate, or in still greater number, so that copies may be forwarded to the central 
office of the bureau and department affected and thus enable these offices to 
keep their records constantly representing actual conditions. The old sheets 
that are supplanted can be retained, if it is deemed desirable, for record pur- 
poses, and on them can be entered the date of the change and such other nota- 
tions as may be thought of value as indicating the reasons for, or conditions 
under which, the changes were made. It is not necessary in all cases that 
changes should be reported daily as they occur to the central offices of the bu- 
reau and department. In many cases every purpose will be served if the sheets 
showing changes are forwarded to such offices once a month. 

Finally, the system should provide that there be maintained in the Executive 
Office of the President, in the office of the Civil Service Commission, and in 
such other offices as it may be deemed desirable to designate, a complete set of 
the outline of organization for the entire Government, and to such offices should 
be forwarded monthly a copy of each sheet which has been changed during the 
preceding month. The result of this provision will be that each subdivision of 
the Government will have at all times a sheet or sheets showing its organization 
and assignment to duty of the personnel, each bureau and each department a 
record showing the organization and personnel of all divisions and institutions 
over which it exercises jurisdiction, and the office of the President and other 
designated central offices a complete record of the organization of the Govern- 
ment as a whole. Information will thus be available at all times regarding the 
organization of any particular service, or of a subdivision of a service, or of the 
Government as a whole, and as to the number of persons, with their service 
titles and compensation, that are employed in any such service or division. 

In order that these ends may be obtained it is necessary that specific 
action should be taken looking to the inauguration and operation of 
the system therein proposed. To this end the commission recom- 
mends : 

1. That the scheme of presentation of information concerning the 
manner in which the Government is organized, employed in the re- 
port of the commission on the organization of the Government as it 



REPOBTS OF THE COMMISSION ON ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY. 565 

existed July 1, 1911, be adopted as the means for maintaining a cur- 
rent record of the Government organization. 

2. That each department, establishment, bureau, service, and branch 
of the Government revise and extend its outline of organization, as 
given in the report of the commission, so as to show under each or- 
ganization unit the number of persons therein employed, classified 
according to their service title and compensation, in the same man- 
ner as has been done in the report of the commission in the case of 
the government of the District of Columbia. This revision should 
show conditions as they exist April 1, 1912. 

3. That a copy of this revised and extended outline be transmitted 
to the Commission on Economy and Efficiency as rapidly as prepared, 
and that it be the duty of said commission to render all aid in its 
power in securing the inauguration of this system of maintaining a 
complete record of organization conditions. 

4. That each subordinate unit, such as a division, field station, etc., 
keep the outline of its organization and personnel currently revised 
to date, so far as it is practicable to do so. 

5. That immediately after Jul} 7 1 and January 1 of each year 
each subordinate unit of organization transmit to the head of the 
superior unit of organization of which it is a part one or more 
copies of all sheets that have been revised during the preceding six 
months to the end that such superior organization unit, by substitut- 
ing such revised sheets for the old sheets, may have revised at least 
semiannually its record of the organization of the subordinate units 
over which it exercises jurisdiction. In accordance with the fore- 
going a complete revision of the outlines of organization of the 
Government will be had at least twice a year. Each department, 
establishment, bureau, etc., can provide for a revision of its outline 
monthly or at even more frequent intervals, if it is found desirable. 

6. That not later than August 1 of each year each executive depart- 
ment, establishment, board, commission, or other branch of the execu- 
tive service, transmit to the Civil Service Commission two complete 
sets of the sheets showing its organization as it existed on July 1 
preceding. 

7. That the Civil Service Commission cause to be assembled in 
proper order, according to the scheme of classification of the Govern- 
ment employed in the report of the commission, the sheets so received 
and transmit one copy of such compilation to the President, retain- 
ing the other copy for its own files. 

8. That in maintaining this record of organization and personnel 
use be made of sheets of white writing paper 8 by 10^ inches, weigh- 
ing approximately 4 pounds per ream of 500 sheets of that size. The 
sheets to be sent to the Civil Service Commission and to the Commis- 
sion on Economy and Efficiency should not have holes for binding 
punched in them. 

Respectfully submitted. 

F. A. Cleveland, 

Chairman. 

W. F. WlLLOUGHBY. 

W. W. Warwick. 
Frank J. Goodnow. 
M. O. Chance, 

Secretary. 

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